


Yumi

by lunesolei



Series: List [2]
Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Angst, Background Slash, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Multi, Saving the World, Tattoos, potentially unhealthy relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-31
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:52:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunesolei/pseuds/lunesolei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Here-in lie the twenty-five things Yumi keeps quiet about.  Will contain hints of slash, canon het, het in general, friendships, family, and growing up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. List

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings:** Nothing in this chapter but there may be het, slash mentions, and dark themes in later chapters. Warnings will be posted in each chapter.
> 
>  **Rating:** G
> 
>  **Author's Note:** And so begins the next List. I felt like Yumi didn't really get a lot of screen time in Ulrich's List so I decided to try her out. To those of you joining from Ulrich's List, I hope you enjoy this one just as much as Ulrich's (or more). To those of you who may be new, this chapter will be the List, and then 25 chapters will follow, varying in length, on the subject of each number. Make sense?
> 
> Again, due to school assignments and studying I'm not sure when I'll be able to update, but I will be updating whenever I get a chance.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Disclaimer:** I don't own _Code Lyoko_
> 
>  **Warnings:** Nothing in this chapter but there may be het, slash mentions, and dark themes in later chapters. Warnings will be posted in each chapter.
> 
>  **Rating:** G
> 
>  **Author's Note:** And so begins the next (revised) List. I know I've been saying I was planning on doing Odd or Sissi's next, but I felt like Yumi didn't really get a lot of screen time in Ulrich's List so I decided to try her out. To those of you joining from Ulrich's List, I hope you enjoy this one just as much as Ulrich's (or more). To those of you who may be new, this chapter will be the List, and then 25 chapters will follow, varying in length, on the subject of each number. Make sense?
> 
> Again, due to school assignments and studying I'm not sure when I'll be able to update, but I will be updating whenever I get a chance.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this.

 

* * *

1\. Her mother told her that France would "make everything better." She hadn't quite forgiven her for that lie yet.

2\. Odd called her uptight, she saw herself as realistic.

3\. Her mother warned her that "boys will only break your heart." She wanted to prove her wrong (she still hadn't).

4\. She was  _not_  a goth and she hated it when people assumed she was.

5\. She seriously considered leaving Sissi to drown during one X.A.N.A. attack (she didn't, but the guilt stays with her).

6\. There was a time when she honestly believed that she and Ulrich would last forever.

7\. Her parents wondered how she turned into an insomniac - she could never properly explain that it was because she was waiting for her phone to ring any second.

8\. She laughed off Sissi's advances on Ulrich (until she heard him call her Eli the first time).

9\. She looked forward to having Aelita join their group (until she did and she realized Aelita wasn't as mature as she had anticipated).

10\. She  _hated_  bugs.

11\. Every time they got summoned to Lyoko she dreaded it (no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget the digital sea).

12\. She tried not to like Will (he was everything she swore she wouldn't fall for) but it was only a matter of time (and they all knew it).

13\. Switching bodies with Odd was one of the strangest things she'd ever experienced.

14\. Hiroki blamed her for breaking up with Ulrich and she didn't have the heart to tell him his hero ended it with her.

15\. Aelita told her of the funeral but she never made it back to Kadic for it (if she were honest, she didn't really try).

16\. She never liked Emily.

17\. Saturday nights were Girls Nights, no matter what.

18\. She kept in contact with Jeremie the most (even if Aelita was the more persistent).

19\. She liked to bake.

20\. Sometimes she saw very little difference between Jeremie and X.A.N.A.

21\. They never talked about it but sometimes, late at night when the fighting grew louder, Hiroki slipped silently between her sheets and she hummed old Japanese lullabies until he fell back to sleep.

22\. Sometimes in between kisses she saw the darkness return to Will's eyes.

23\. Until the day she died she would never admit that she was happy Hiroki was in that accident (it made the fighting stop).

24\. She moved to Paris and enrolled at Sciences Po. She lived in a tiny studio and went to class (she stopped taking sleep aids) and X.A.N.A. became a nightmare, Lyoko a dream (she  _smiled)_.

25\. Aelita cried when she showed up to their graduation. (She won't admit that she almost didn't come.)


	2. Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** None, unless you count (non canon) het?
> 
>  **Rating:** G
> 
>  **Author's Note:** And here's chapter one! I can't remember if it said when she moved to France during the show. I found online that she moved as a baby but I also saw somewhere else that she'd just moved that year. So this is kind of a compromise.

_1\. Her mother told her that France would "make everything better." She hadn't quite forgiven her for that lie yet._

She was twelve when her parents sat her down at the table. Hiroki was at a friend's house. Her mother's face was relaxed while her father looked nervous. "You aren't in any trouble, Yumi," her mother said. "Your father has something to tell you."

"Yumi," he began. He stopped and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Father?" she asked politely, curiously. She had never seen him nervous before. He looked at her mother imploringly.

Her mother sighed and rubbed her bare shoulder. Her mother's hands were warm and callused. "Yumi," her mother said in that soft way she had about her. "Your father has received a promotion at work."

"Congratulations, Father," she said promptly. She offered him a smile.

"Thank-you," he replied. He shifted and poured tea. "Yumi, once your school finishes we're moving to France."

" _France_?" she exclaimed. Her father shot her a look and she quickly bowed her head and studied the folded hands in her lap.

"It will be a good opportunity for our family," her mother informed her. "You'll like France, you'll see."

"May I be excused?" she asked. Her father waved her away while her mother frowned.

/

"I'm moving to France," she announced after school one day. Her friends stopped their laughing and teasing and elbowing to stare at her. Hina paused mid-twirl of her hair to cover her mouth in surprise. Kaito just stared at her, his eyes wide. Yumi tucked her hair behind her ear again.

"Moving?" Hina repeated. Her wide eyes widened more. A moment later she had her arms around Yumi in a tight hug. "You're my best friend, you can't  _move_!"

"I know," Yumi murmured. She hugged Hina back just as tight. "But I have to. My father's already gone over to look for a house. He got a promotion." The last word is more bitter than she intended. Her eyes meet Kaito's over Hina's shoulder.

"When?" he asked quietly.

"Next week, when school's over," she replied. She wouldn't let the tears fall again, she refused. "I have to get home; I'm helping my mother pack."

"Next week?" Yumi nodded miserably. "This isn't fair!" Hina exclaimed. She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "We've been best friends for ten years, Yumi!"

"I know," Yumi replied. "We'll get together this weekend, a sleep over, okay?"

Hina chewed her hair and nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

"Come on, Yumi, let's go," Kaito said. He gave her a wry smile and she gave a small one back. "Later, Hina."

"Bye guys," Hina replied.

They parted ways at the usual street corner, Hina heading east and Yumi and Kaito continuing on northward. "So…France?" Kaito asked. "Excited?"

"No," Yumi replied. She tucked strands of hair behind her ear and frowned. "I don't know, maybe."

"I'm sure it'll be fun," Kaito told her. He looked at her sideways from under black bangs. "You'll turn into an even bigger fashion lover than Hina."

She laughed and their hands bumped. "I doubt that," she replied.

"You never know." He laced their fingers together and she looked at him. "I'm going to miss you, Yumi." Her face flushed and she smiled.

"Whose notes will you copy?" she teased. "Hina's a terrible student."

"Yumi."

"My mother's waiting; I need to help her pack up the house…" She trailed off as he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Kaito-"

"Yumi!" her mother called. "Yumi, come in and help me with pots!"

Kaito reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she mumbled before hurrying up the walkway to where her mother stood in the open door.

/

The night before they took the plane to France Yumi laid in her empty room and stared out the window at the cherry blossom trees. The light from the hall spilled in as her door opened. "Are you awake?" her mother asked softly.

"Yes," she replied.

Her mother crossed the bare wood floor and sat down on the edge of her bed. "I know you're upset about moving, but it'll be fine, you'll see," she promised.

Yumi twisted in order to stare at her mother over her shoulder. "Can you promise that?" she asked.

Her mother's hand reached over to brush the dark strands of hair from her face. "Yes," she said after a moment. "You'll make lots of friends-"

"I have friends here-"

"There won't be as many people; there will be more trees-"

"I  _like_  the city," she protested.

Her mother's face creased and her lips drew together. "Yumi, please don't make this difficult. Your brother will be looking to you for an example. You must be brave. You'll love France, you'll see."

Yumi heaved a sigh. She closed her eyes. "Will you and Father stop fighting?" she asked. She cracked her eyes open to see her mother's expression.

"Everything will work out," her mother replied. "This is for the best." Her mother leaned over to kiss her forehead. Yumi turned back to stare out the window. She heard her mother sigh and get to her feet. "Goodnight," she called from the door.

"Night," Yumi replied when the room was dark again.

/

Two years later and she'd come to the conclusion that she did not like France. It was cold and rainy with villages and trees and grain fields. There were no cherry blossom trees, no Gozun Okuribi festivals, no temples or tall buildings. And they spoke a funny language.

Her classmates still gave her curious looks and her teachers could never get her name right. And she was really terrible at French. Hiroki liked it though. He spent days off in the park climbing trees, enjoyed when the children asked about his video game knowledge, and told jokes that Yumi was eighty percent sure were at her expense. It wasn't fair. She'd spent their first year here trying to learn French and was still only conversational in it. After that first summer Hiroki was practically fluent.

She kicked a discarded coke bottle and watched it roll down the road. It landed in the gutter and got trapped by a narrow drain. Yumi sighed and looked up to watch the other kids in her class walk in laughing, chattering groups home. She still missed her friends. Hina…Mei…Nori…and Kaito. She frowned. It still hurt to think about Kaito..

" _Ugh_!" she groaned. A couple curious heads looked over at her. She slouched down, hands deep in her pockets. Her messenger bag thumped her thigh as she sped up to reach her street faster.

She exhaled when she reached her house. Her relief was quickly replaced with a frown. "Hey, Yumi," her little brother said. He didn't bother looking up from the handheld game he was playing on the front steps.

"What are you doing out here?" Yumi asked. "Where's your jacket?" It wasn't cold but it was cool enough. "Hiroki?"

He jerked his head toward the house just as the yelling started up again. Her mother's usually calm voice turned sharp and piercing. "Dad's home early," Hiroki noted. She heard her father's voice rising.

Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag and dug into her skin. "How long have they been fighting?"

"Since I got home," Hiroki replied.

Yumi sighed and blew strands out of her face. "Let's go to the park. They'll have sorted it out by then. Come on," she said.

"Really?" She nodded and he bounded to his feet, a wide smile on his face. She knew he liked the jungle gym at the park, she preferred the swings. "I thought the fighting was supposed to stop." He looked up at Yumi as they walked.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I thought so too."


	3. Realistic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Uhm. Underage tattooing? Is that even a warning? And a couple of deaths are mentioned in passing.
> 
>  **Rating:** PG
> 
>  **Author's Note:** This chapter took a bit of work because I debated on one scenario or a series. Hopefully it comes across well. And I promise, I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner (I've already got _ideas_ ).

_2\. Odd called her uptight, she saw herself as realistic_.

 _The first is always the worst_  her father liked to say. It was his go-to answer for scraped knees, failed tests, pulled teeth, lost pets. Yumi had always hated that response. The first time they found out they weren't invincible was no different. But she did wonder if her father would still say the same thing. She never found out because she could never ask him.

"You cut it a little sharp there at the end, goofing off like that," Yumi said to Odd. It wasn't malicious, not yet. She bumped his shoulder and he laughed and bumped her back. Ulrich shook his head and followed just behind them.

"Nah, I'm an ace with timing. Don't be so uptight, Yumi," Odd snorted. "You have to put on a bit of show, otherwise where's the fun?"

"It isn't supposed to  _be_  fun," Yumi replied.

"Yeah yeah, you're starting to sound like Einstein," Odd groaned.

"When do you think we set back to?" Ulrich asked. "We're still at the factory."

"Don't know, we'll ask Einstein, hopefully it was after Hertz's test," Odd replied. He bounded into the supercomputer room ahead of them. "Hey, Einstein-!"

Yumi froze in the doorway, stared at the boy sitting hunched in the chair, head in his hands and shoulders shaking. She didn't have to see the screen to know something went wrong.

/

For a week she wore the black ink spelling out  ** _P. D. 3/1/04_**  on the inside of her wrist, right along the blue veins. Ulrich was the first to notice it. Carefully, he took her wrist in his. He turned it so that he could study the writing and when his eyes met hers she saw the pain in them.

"Yumi…" he said.

They hadn't gone to the funeral. But they'd watched it. The four of them huddled under black umbrellas as a mother's sobs filled the graveyard. She waited to hear him say  _it'll be fine_  or  _it'll get better_  or even  _it's not our fault_.

Instead he squeezed her cold fingers and released her arm. "It's a nice thought," he told her.

Jeremie noticed as they sat waiting for Ulrich and Odd the following morning. She had been stretching her arms out at a rare moment when he lifted his eyes from his laptop screen. He blinked. "What's that?"

"You know what it is," she replied.

"You shouldn't have that. People might know…might wonder…" He looked around as though he expected Milly and Tamiya to pop up with microphone and video camera in hand.

"They won't."

"Yumi, it's dangerous," he told her. "We all regret what happened…you know that. But to have a reminder…you shouldn't have it there."

"Jeremie," she said. He looked up at her, at the pitch to her voice that she couldn't get rid of. "Jeremie, it's something I have to do. No one will know. I won't tell anyone."

He took a breath and when he exhaled he looked concave. "Alright," he agreed, but he didn't sound happy about it.

She never knew if Odd noticed. She didn't catch him looking at it and he never asked about it. It wasn't something she could ask about either.

She hoped he had.

"Yumi, is there something we should…discuss?" her mother asked after school on the fourth day. Yumi looked up, eyes red rimmed and sleepless and shook her head. "Yumi…" Her mother's hand grasped her wrist, fingers just shy of touching the writing.

"It's nothing, just something I wrote for class."

Her mother's eyes were troubled. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she replied. Her phone buzzed and she flinched. "I have to go…I'm studying at school."

"Yumi!"

She grabbed the phone and ran.

. . … . .

Her ears were deceiving her. They had to be. She stared at Ulrich incredulously. He looked back, arms crossed over his chest and one shoulder hitched slightly in a what-can-I-say way. "What did you just say?" she asked anyway.

Odd looked up from where he was scribbling something on his arm long enough to watch them. From behind her she heard Jeremie cough. "Guys, we're in a bit of a time crunch here," Jeremie reminded them.

Ulrich shrugged both shoulders properly this time. "You heard me," he said. "I think we should use Sissi."

" _Use_  Sissi?" Yumi repeated.

Jeremie shook his head. "We told you, she can't be trusted."

"She doesn't have to know," Ulrich replied. His eyes wouldn't meet hers though and her stomach clenched uncomfortably tight. She swallowed a couple times and opened her mouth to argue.

"I agree," Odd said. Three heads whipped around to look at him. He offered a smile. "Sissi can be useful. We don't have a lot of time and Sissi's got Delmas wrapped around her finger. It could stop the X.A.N.A. attack from going bad again."

Jeremie frowned and chewed on his lip. "Guys…"

Yumi glowered. "You better be right," she interrupted.

"Don't be a pessimist, Yumers," Odd retorted.

"I'm not, I'm a realist." Odd muttered something she ignored.

"Come on, let's get going then," Jeremie said.

Yumi's eyes met Ulrich's. "You'll be careful?"

"Always am," he replied, but he still wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Right," she agreed and followed the others. She never did find out what Ulrich promised Sissi in order to get her cooperation.

. . … . .

"Don't be such a killjoy, Yumers," Odd laughed. His voice echoed eerily in the factory.

"Don't call me that," she snapped irritably.

"Leave her alone, Odd," Ulrich called. He was writing something in a notebook propped on his knees.

"It's just a party," Odd reasoned. He waggled his eyebrows at Yumi. "Come on, it'll be fun." She knew why he wanted to go. He'd been flirting with Monet Giroux for two weeks now. She played girls' football and had long chestnut hair and grey eyes. And she was known for her party-of-the-century parties.

"Don't you have to study?" she asked. She flipped a page in her book pointedly but it fell on deaf ears.

"Studied before X.A.N.A. decided to attack," Odd replied. His back arched as he stretched. "Lucky for us we had to do a Return, means a free night for once."

Yumi sighed and looked to Jeremie for backup. His nose was buried in some book with faded text on the spine and she groaned. "We can't just go to a party," she said finally.

"Why not?" Odd reasoned. "Monet's throwing it and everyone knows her parties are the best in town. Her parents are in Paris for the night."

"My parents would never let me," she rationalized. "And you're just hoping to kiss her."

"So don't tell them. Come on, relax. Have some fun," Odd replied. She didn't fail to notice his lack of reaction to her second statement. He kicked Ulrich's foot and got a disgruntled look in return. "Nature Boy here's going."

She stared at Ulrich incredulously. "You are?" she asked. She shouldn't have been surprised. She knew Ulrich had gone to parties before (before X.A.N.A. anyway) but he was so secretive. Parties didn't seem like they'd be his scene. Especially not a  _Monet Party_.

He shrugged. "Seems fun. It'd be nice to get away from school for a bit," he admitted.

"Are you telling me you didn't finish your homework last night, before the X.A.N.A. attack?" Odd demanded. "You, who's practically another Jeremie and gets it done a  _week_  in advance?"

Yumi huffed and slammed her book shut. "I did, but my parents know I have a History test-"

"Which you already took," Ulrich reasoned.

"Yes, but they don't  _know_  that," Yumi snapped. She turned to Jeremie again. "What do you think?"

"X.A.N.A.'s usually quiet after an attack of the last one's magnitude. It might be fun to get out and observe the social interactions of our student peers outside of school."

" _See_?" Odd exclaimed. "Even Jeremie wants to go!"

Yumi sighed and rubbed her temples. "Alright, I'll come," she muttered.

Odd whooped and nudged Ulrich's foot again. "See, told you I'd get her to come!"

She thought Ulrich might have smiled.

. . … . .

"What did you do?" Yumi asked, eyes wide and vaguely horrified.

Odd grinned at her, arm slung around Aelita's shoulders. Aelita tugged at a few strands of hair and looked uncertain. "Looks good, doesn't it? She's sure to fit in now."

"You…You…"

"Jeez, Yumi, relax. Quit being so uptight, it's not like it's your hair," Odd laughed.

"Don't you like it?" Aelita asked.

"I…I…Yes, of course," Yumi replied. "It's just a surprise."

Aelita's fingers drifted away from the absentminded twirling of the newly dyed hair and her face broke out in a wide, relieved smile. Yumi hadn't realized how much they looked alike until that moment. Same height, same slight build, same eye color, and now the same hair color.

"Oh good, I wasn't sure when Odd first suggested it…but I guess now people won't be staring at my hair all the time, right?"

"Right," Yumi replied. She could see Jeremie and Ulrich approaching behind the so-called cousins. "Have you shown Jeremie yet?"

Aelita's bottom lip disappears between her teeth. "Not yet," she admitted.

"Won't matter," Odd replied. "Guys love blondes." Aelita elbowed him and Yumi sent him a glare. "Well, except Ulrich, I guess," he amended. He waggled his eyebrows at Yumi. "Seems like you're safe."

She kicked him as the boys arrived.

. . … . .

"Did you tell anyone where we were going?" Yumi asked.

Odd shook his head. "No, Ulrich's busy with his sister. Aelita's been kind of distant since…and Einstein'd probably tell on us," Odd replied. He looked over at Yumi and frowned. "You sure about this?" he asked.

"Haven't you already told me to stop being an uptight pessimist?" she asked.

"I never said pessimist," he protested.

"You have," she replied. "But yes, I'm sure." She nodded and took a breath, staring at the shop. It was the day before her sixteenth birthday. They'd taken the train in to Paris after lunch. She was surprised when Odd reached over to squeeze her hand.

"Okay then," he said. "Come on."

A chime rang as they pushed the door open. Yumi looked around at the designs decorating the walls. "How'd you find this place again?" she asked.

Odd stepped around her, eyeing a painting of two koi fish intertwined. "Friend of mine works here." Yumi nodded even though he couldn't see. She let the door fall shut behind her and approached the front desk. A girl came out of an open door and Yumi frowned. She looked familiar. Odd turned and a smile lit up his face. "And here she is. Hey, Sam."

The girl swatted turquoise streaked hair out of her eyes and gave a lazy smile. "Hey, stranger," she said. Yumi remembered her now. She'd grown some but was still willowy. Her dark hair was cut chin length now and she was dressed in a corset and plaid skirt. "You here to see Sean?"

"She is," Odd replied with a nod toward Yumi.

Sam's eyes settled on her for a moment. "Yuna, right?"

"Yumi," she replied. "Hi, Sam."

"Sean's almost done back there. So, do you know what you want to get?"

She didn't look at Odd as she answered, "yeah."

/

 _Dad's wrong_ , she thought, grimacing. It hurt just as much the second time. The man, Sean, gave her an apologetic smile but didn't look up from his work. She could hear Odd chattering away with Sam in the reception area and she grit her teeth. The needle buzzed as it went in and out of the thin skin on her wrist.

"So, what's with the initials and dates?" Sean asked. "If you don't mind my asking." He was younger than she anticipated, maybe nineteen or twenty. Sam had sensed her apprehension and pulled out a book of photos of Sean's tattoos to try and calm her.

"Mistakes," Yumi replied. She focused on the stud poking out of his left eyebrow. Something in her voice must have tipped him off because he changed the subject.

"You live in Paris?"

"Outside of it," she answered. "Why tattooing?" she asked.

"Canvas was too boring," he replied. She laughed despite herself and he flashed her another grin. "No challenge."

"I'm sure," she replied.

"It's the truth," he protested. A moment of silence and then he was putting aside the needle and blotting lightly at her skin. "You're done."

"Thanks." She checked her arm; saw the black ink stark against the pale inside of her wrist.  ** _P. D. 3/1/04_**  and, below it,  ** _M. G. 30/4/06_**. She started to get up and Sean grabbed her arm. She looked up at him in surprise.

"You ever make any more mistakes, you give a call, okay?" he asked. He handed her a business card. "Even if it's not one that needs to be written down."

She might have cried, if she hadn't cried for the past two days. Instead she nodded and slipped his card into her pocket. "Thanks," she repeated.

Odd looked up when she entered the reception area, followed by Sean. His eyes fell to her wrist and the initials and dates. "Looks good," he said, and there was an odd note to his voice.

 _The first is always the worst_ , her dad liked to say. She touched the raw skin around the tattoo and frowned. It wasn't true. Michel Girard hurt just as much as Phillippe Dumas had. She held her arm out as Sean put the bandage over it, took the instructions that Sam handed her.

"Come on," Odd said. "Lets go."

Odd liked to tease her by calling her  _uptight_  or  _pessimistic_ , but walking out of that tattoo shop, feeling his eyes on her bandaged arm, she knew he knew. It wasn't pessimism to know your limits. It wasn't being uptight to try and prevent the risks. They were on the Metro when she nudged him.

"Thanks for coming with me today," she said when he looked at her.

He gave her a small smile and nudged her back. "Anytime, Yumers." She didn't protest the nickname this time.


	4. Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Cheating (romantically, not on a test), parental disputes, hints of things of a sexual nature, rough making out? (honestly I don't know how to describe it...), OCs.
> 
>  **Rating:** PG-14
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Long updates after long waits are good, right? That said, I've noticed that each chapter has grown by approximately a thousand words. I hope this stops happening soon otherwise chapter 26 will be ridiculously long. Four OCs in this chapter, two you've seen before, one you haven't (and probably won't see again), the other you may see again but probably not. Thank you to everyone whose favorited, followed, and left feedback. You all are too kind.

_3\. Her mother warned her that "boys will only break your heart." She wanted to prove her wrong (she still hadn't)._

 

Hiroki was asleep on the sofa, head pillowed on a folded arm.  Her parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, laughed and chatted as they drank and sampled from the _osechi_.  Her mother had already forced her to eat two helpings of _kuro-mame_ in order to hopefully prevent illness in the New Year.  She still maintained that it wasn’t her fault Hina had given her the flu three times. 

 

Yumi sighed and stared out the back doors at the sky.  The clouds were sparse and the stars shone brightly tonight.  She checked her watch and saw that it was almost midnight.  “Yumi!” her father called.

 

“Yes?” she asked.

 

“Could you fetch more sake from the kitchen?”

 

“Sure,” she called.  She stepped over Hanna and Cho’s legs.  They didn’t look up from where they were drawing on each other’s arms.  Kyou gave her a smile as she passed and she smiled back but he’d already returned to the game in his hands.  Kyou was two years older than Hiroki and much better at staying awake.

 

A knock sounded at the door and she frowned.  The adults hadn’t heard over the sound of Beethoven and the talking and excited laughing.  Yumi opened the front door and frowned.  “Kaito?” she asked.

 

“Hey, Yumi,” he replied.  He was bundled up from the cold and he shifted awkwardly from foot to foot.  “Can you come out here for a moment?”

 

“What are you doing here?” she asked.  She stepped out, shutting the door behind her. 

 

“I slipped out,” he admitted.  She frowned, confused, as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the porch rail.  “The stars are pretty tonight.”

 

“Yeah…do you want to come in?”  She wasn’t sure what to do.  She’d never had someone not related to her appear on New Year’s eve.  “It’s almost midnight.”

 

“I know.”  He shifted again.  “Let’s just stand out here for a moment, okay?”

 

“…Okay.”  She leant on the rail next to him.  He took her hand again and she looked at him curiously.  “Kaito?”  He was acting odd, definitely not his usual cool self.  “Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah, great…I…” he trailed off as the bells began to ring.  All over the temple bells rang, filling the night air as people cheered.  She wondered if her family had noticed her absence yet.  She wondered if…

 

Kaito kissed her.

 

She froze. 

 

He pulled back, face red and eyes wide.  “I’m sorry…I just.  I really like you, Yumi and…and…”

 

She smiled and blushed, fingers automatically playing with the strands of hair too short to be tucked behind her ear.  “Really?” she asked over the sound of the bells.

 

His face turned redder.  “Yeah, really.”  He shifted and tugged at his jacket sleeves.  “Are you upset?”

 

“No,” she said.  She gave him a shy smile and then addressed the post behind his left shoulder, “but we might have to try that kiss again.”

 

He grinned, and as the bells faded away, leaned in and kissed her again. 

 

//

 

“You’re really moving?” Kaito asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

They sat at the koi pond and she tossed bits of bread to the fat fish.  “That sucks,” he groaned.  Yumi shrugged and let him pull her tight against him in a one-armed side hug.  “Will you come back?”

 

“Of course I will.”  She wouldn’t look at him because then he’d see the tears and she didn’t want him to see her cry.  “I guess this means we’ll be breaking up, huh?”  They’d only been together six months anyway.  It wasn’t a big deal, she tried to tell herself.

 

“What, why?”

 

“I’m moving.  To _France_.  It’s not like I’ll be an hour’s train ride away,” she replied irritably. 

 

“So?”  He tightened his grip on her.  “Yumi, look at me.”  Reluctantly, she met his eyes.  They were dark and glinting with something she was still too young to identify.  “I love you-”

 

“My mother says we’re too young to know love,” she scoffed, eyebrow raised.

 

“What does she know about how I feel?” he asked.  “I care about you a lot.  I’ll see you when you come back and maybe I can come visit you, yeah?”

 

“You mean it?” she asked.  She fought the bubbling feeling but could feel it manifesting itself as a smile.

 

“I mean it.”

 

She grinned as she kissed him.

 

//

 

Her mother hummed and ran calloused fingers through her hair.  Yumi curled in a ball and sobbed into her pillow.  The letter Hina had sent clutched in her hand.  “How…how c-could he?” she hiccupped against her mother’s warm leg.

 

“You didn’t really think this would last, did you?” her mother asked.  Yumi sobbed harder, the paper crumpling in her hands.  Her mother’s hands moved to her shoulders, massaging gently.  “I’m sorry, Yumi.  Boys, especially at this age, do stupid things.  You must realize this.  It’ll get easier, you’ll see.”

 

“He said he loved me!” she protested.  “And Hina said he went off with Mei and…and he said he loved me.”

 

She heard her mother sigh.  “Boys will say many things, Yumi.  You have to learn how to tell what’s true and what’s not.  It’s a hard lesson, but everyone goes through it.  Listen to me; I’m not trying to be mean.  Boys will break your heart.  And you’ll break theirs…”

 

“Not like this!  I wouldn’t cheat on someone!”

 

“No, you won’t,” her mother said.  Yumi sat up, wiping at her face and tossing the letter aside.  “You’re barely thirteen, Yumi.  You’ll move past it, and you’ll remember this the next time a boy breaks your heart.  And it might be worse then, or it might be easier.  But you will always feel pain, that’s the way of relationships.”

 

Her mother pulled her into a hug and Yumi curled up against her.  She breathed in the scent of tea and cleaning supplies and lavender soap and wished she were still Hiroki’s age.

 

The next day she burned their photos and the printed emails in the rubbish bin out back. 

 

. . … . .

 

Robert Nattier had those dark eyes she’d always been drawn to.  The brooding ones.  The secretive ones.  He launched paper balls at her hair at lunch and accidentally spilled juice on her new sweatshirt.  Shannon blew a pink bubble and kicked her shin under the table.

 

“What?” Yumi demanded.  She was already irritated by the paper balls and juice spilling.  Shannon rolled her blue eyes and beckoned Yumi to lean in.  “ _What_?” Yumi repeated, obediently leaning forward until the table bit into her stomach.

 

“He _likes_ you,” Shannon said.  Yumi’s eyes narrowed while Shannon’s widened.  “You’re so flipping lucky.  He’s a year older and _almost_ as hot as Johnny Depp.”

 

“I don’t like Johnny Depp,” Yumi protested.  Shannon gave her a sad look and shook her head.  “Anyway, why doesn’t he just ask me out?”

 

Shannon rolled her eyes.  “Because he’s a boy, duh.”  She popped another bubble while Yumi chewed her lip.  “Don’t blow it, Yumi.  He’s Kadic’s number one hottie.”

 

//

 

 _Don’t blow it, Yumi_. 

 

Shannon’s words echoed in her head as she sat in the dark cinema with Robert.  He gave her a grin as the previews started and she mustered a small one in response.  She still wasn’t sure what movie they had actually agreed on seeing. 

 

 _Don’t blow it, Yumi_.

 

Her face heated as Robert wrapped an arm around the back of her chair, his fingers rubbing at her shoulder and playing with her hair.  She focused on the screen, watching two children holding some kind of tin box and talking of dares. 

 

_Don’t blow it, Yumi._

 

Robert’s hand shifted, moved down her arm.  She shifted in her seat and dropped her phone.  Quickly she leaned forward to find it on the ground.  When she sat up again, his arm was gone.  With a half-suppressed sigh she settled back and tried to focus on the movie again. 

 

 _Don’t blow it, Yumi_.

 

Marion Cotillard made an appearance on screen about the same time that Robert’s hand made it’s appearance on her leg.  “I’m glad you agreed to come with me,” Robert breathed into her ear.

 

 _Don’t blow it, Yumi_.

 

“Please, stop.  I’m trying to watch the movie,” she hissed back.  She grabbed his hand and he leaned in and managed to kiss her in the near-dark.  Her head spun as he pressed in.  He wasn’t like Kaito.  He wasn’t shy.  He was demanding and pushy and her gasp was all the invitation he needed to stick his tongue in her mouth. 

 

 _Don’t_ -

 

Her slap echoed in the crowded cinema.  The people nearest her looked over in surprise as she untangled herself from his shocked grasp.  How many hands did he have anyway? 

 

She never got to see the end of the movie.

 

//

 

“How was your date?” her mother asked.

 

“Date?  What date?” her father demanded.  He looked up from his dinner and frowned.  “I thought she was seeing a movie with a friend?”

 

“Hush, Takeyo,” her mother admonished.  “Yumi?”

 

“Fine,” she replied.  She ignored the way her mother’s eyebrows drew together as she stormed past the living room. 

 

“Now wait a moment, I have a right to know what goes on in my own house!” her dad exclaimed.

 

“Do you now?” her mother demanded.  Hiroki kept his head ducked as he stacked rice with his chop sticks.  “Well then, the roof is leaking over the spare room again and I have to call in a specialist because you never bothered to get rid of the rodents-”

 

“Not now, Akiko!”

 

Yumi took the stairs two at a time and slammed her door shut.  She collapsed onto her bed, already calling Shannon.  “How’d it go?” Shannon squealed.

 

“I blew it,” she sighed.

 

. . … . .

 

“I wouldn’t hurt you,” he told her.  “I’d never hurt you.”

 

Her smile was twisted a little as she touched his hand.  She wanted to believe him, she really did.  “I know you wouldn’t,” she replied.  _Not intentionally_ , she thought.  “But I’m not ready for another relationship.  I just like being your friend.”

 

Ulrich nodded and his fingers laced with hers.  “I understand.”  He gave her a small smile and she smiled back.

 

//

 

She wasn’t sure how it happened.  One minute they were sitting and talking, laughing about Odd’s latest prank on Jim.  The next thing she knew her lips were pressed against Ulrich’s and his hands were knotted in her hair.  She pressed against him, kissed him hard, and he didn’t back down.

 

When they pulled away for air he gave her a tiny smile and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  “Well,” he said.

 

She doubled over laughing until he followed suit.  They leaned together, her forehead pressed to his shoulder and his fingers dancing across her shoulders, until they caught their breath.  “I don’t usually kiss on a first date,” she groaned, wondering what he’d think of her.

 

Below her forehead his shoulder rose in a shrug.  “Good thing this wasn’t a date, huh?” he teased.  “How about Friday night, seven-thirty?  We can have dinner in town.”

 

She liked that it wasn’t a movie theater.  “Sounds good,” she agreed.

 

//

 

She couldn’t place her finger on it.  On what it was that made them combust.  Or maybe she could, she’d just need more than one finger.

 

Ulrich held her hands but didn’t meet her eyes.  “I don’t want to hurt you,” he repeated.  “I never wanted to hurt you.”

 

It was so much like the first time he asked her out that she wanted to cry.  Or laugh.  “I know you don’t,” she murmured finally.  “But we don’t work, do we?”  She’d seen this coming.  She’d seen it coming but denied it for so long that she’d forgotten that they didn’t work.  They were too stubborn. 

 

He looked relieved and that hurt more.  He wasn’t going to try to fight for them.  And he didn’t care that she wasn’t fighting for them either.  “We don’t,” he agreed.  His eyes met hers and he looked so serious, so final and now the tears did come, gathered at the corners of her eyes and threatened to fall.  Her fingers clenched around his.  “I’m sorry, Yumi.”

 

“Me too, Ulrich.”  He leans forward and kisses her forehead while slipping his hand out of hers.  “Ulrich!”  He met her eyes again.  “Tell me it isn’t Sissi.” 

 

He gave her a twisty smile.  “It isn’t Sissi,” he agreed.  “I have to get back, I promised Odd-”

 

“It’s okay, go on.  I’ll see you at school,” she interrupted.  Again that relieved look and she felt her heart twist. 

 

“Ulrich’s not coming in?” her mother asked when she entered the house alone.  Yumi shook her head and wiped at the stubborn tears that still clung to her eyelashes.  “Oh, Yumi!”

 

“What?  What happened?” her father asked.  Her mother shot him a dark look as she hurried across the room to hug their daughter.   

 

“It’s okay,” her mother soothed.  She ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her back.  “I told you boys couldn’t be trusted, they only break your heart.  But you’ll find one someday.  I know you will.”

 

Yumi sniffed and breathed in her mother’s perfume and didn’t argue.

 

. . … . .

 

Will’s all dark eyes and secret smiles.  He’s the type of boy she promised never to get involved with again.   But he sent her poetry and funny cartoons, hummed songs that she hadn’t heard before and talked to her about history and messed up families.    

 

Two weeks after she and Ulrich broke up she gave in.  She wondered what that said about her.

 

//

 

Will’s hands were tight on her upper arms, pinning her against the door.  She reached up, fingers dug deep into his shoulders as she tugged him closer.  Their mouths crashed together again-again-again.  She could feel her heart race, could feel his pulse pound beneath her fingers.  They were racing-racing-racing but not in sync like in all those stories she’d read. 

 

He pulled back, panting hard and she pressed forward automatically.  His grip stopped her and she glared at him and huffed.  “Yumi,” he said.  His eyes were dark, darker than Kaito’s when he lied to her at the fishpond, darker than Robert’s when he whispered in her ear, darker even than Ulrich’s when she struck at him and he fought back until they lay panting on the ground. 

 

“Sh,” she murmured.  His grip relaxed enough for her to press her fingers to his face, to tug him back toward her.  “Sh,” she repeated.  She pressed kisses to his mouth once-twice-thrice and then he was kissing her back.  Groaning into her mouth and she thought _finally_ but she wasn’t sure what she’d been waiting for. 

 

She pushed him back until they collapsed on her bed and she never found out what he’d wanted to say to her.

 

//

 

“I can’t do this anymore,” Will told her.  She scuffed a sneaker along the carpet in his room and ignored the annoyed look he shot her way.  “I love you, Yumi.  A lot.  But you don’t love me and you’re going to Paris in three months.  It’s time we stopped pretending, isn’t it?”

 

Her eyes rose to meet his and she leaned back against the wall.  Idly she scratched along the black ink permanently staining her wrist.  He reached over and took her hand, pressed his lips to the words written there.  “The fact that you’re not even going to argue…it tells me a lot,” he murmured against her skin. 

 

“It sounded like you’d made up your mind,” she replied.  She pulled her hand away and plucked at the tartan quilt.  Will heaved a sigh and reached for her again.  “Don’t touch me,” she snapped.  “Not after what you just said.”

 

“Yumi, _please_ ,” he said.

 

“Forget it.”  She got up and grabbed her bag.  “You’re right; I’m leaving in three months.  Wouldn’t want you to have to _pretend_ anymore.”  She stomped across the room to the door.

 

“Yumi, damn it, that’s not what I meant!” Will protested.  He grabbed her arm and spun her around, pressed her against the door.

 

“Careful, Will,” she cautioned.  He searched her eyes, brushed the hair out of her face.  “What are you doing?”

 

He leaned in and kissed her hard.  Hard enough to bruise, to cut lips against sharp teeth.  His grip left purple marks on her arms for days afterward.  He pulled back and studied her face again.  She raised an eyebrow curiously.  “Nothing,” he said and his tone was just shy of despondent.  “I loved you, Yumi.”

 

“Obviously,” she snapped.  She elbowed him before opening the door and storming out.  She didn’t stop running until she got home.

 

“Yumi?” her mother called.  She had a pencil behind her ear and a red pen in her hand.  She was in the middle of editing.  “Are you okay?  What happened?”

 

“Will dumped me.”

 

“Oh, Yumi, I’m-”

 

“Save it,” she snapped.  “You were right, guys will only break my heart.”

 

“Yumi, I didn’t-”

 

“I’m going to bed.”

 

. . … . .

 

“Hey, Yumi, right?”  She looked up at the voice.  “Let me help you with that.”  The cardboard box she was struggling with was suddenly pulled out of her arms.

 

It took her a minute to place the face.  “…John?” she asked.

 

He gave her a slight smile.  “Close.  It’s Sean.”  She flushed and nodded.  “You moving in here?”

 

“Yeah, school…”

 

“Cool.”  He hitched the box higher and nodded to the door.  “Lead the way.”

 

“Oh, no, I can manage…”

 

“Yumi, it’s fine.” 

 

“Oh, okay.  Thanks.” She led the way so he wouldn’t see her flushed face.  His eyes dropped to her wrist.

 

“So I guess no more mistakes, huh?” he asked.

 

She gave a smile as she fumbled with her key and the door.  “None worth remembering,” she replied.  She managed to get the door opened and sighed.  “Sorry for the mess.”

 

“Can’t be worse than my place.”  He entered and ignored the piled boxes and clothes and scattered dishes.  “Where do you want it?”

 

“On the table’s fine.”  He placed it carefully on top of a stack of newspapers threatening to slide sideways off the table.  “Well, thanks again.”

 

“No problem.”  He gave her an easy smile.  “You want to get some coffee?  I know a café down the street-”

 

“Oh, well I’m not…I mean…”

 

“Yumi, it’s just coffee.  Just to welcome you to the city.  It’s okay.”  He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, watching her intently. 

 

She blew a strand of hair out of her face.  “Yeah, sure, okay.”  He broke out in a wide smile and she couldn’t help but grin back.  “It sounds really great actually.”

 

She reached for her purse and he shook his head, grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door.  “Nah, I’m buying.”

 

“But-”

 

His dark eyes twinkled as he smiled down at her while she locked the door.  “If you have to then think about it as a welcome-to-Paris gift.”

 

“Is that what it is?” she asked, pocketing her key. 

 

“Doesn’t have to be,” he agreed.  He held the outer door open for her.  “But we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” 


	5. Goth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Language, snarkiness.
> 
>  **Rating:** PG
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter. Hopefully it isn't as angsty as prior chapters have been. Thank you to everyone who has been reading. I hope you enjoy it.

_4\. She was not a goth and she hated it when people assumed she was._

 

Her father looked up from his morning paper and frowned.  “Go change.”

 

She frowned back and grabbed the carton of milk from the counter.  “What?  Why?”

 

“I won’t have you dressed as some goth.  Go put on something decent.”

 

“This is decent!” she exclaimed.  Hiroki snickered into his cereal and she kicked his chair as she passed him.  “Shut-up, runt.”

 

“Don’t call me that,” he snapped.

 

“I’m not a goth.”  She ignored her brother and poured milk on her cereal. 

 

“You look like one,” Hiroki supplied.  “All dressed in black and mopey looking.”

 

“Shut-up,” she snapped again.

 

“Yumi, I’m not going to say it again.”  Yumi rolled her eyes and stabbed the spoon angrily into the bowl.

 

“Say what?” her mother questioned as she entered the kitchen.  She fumbled with the clasp of her necklace and searched the fridge for the milk. 

 

“Do you see what your daughter is wearing, Akiko?”

 

Her mother spared a look at her, spotted the milk, and hurried over.  “I think she looks nice.  I could do without the midriff showing, but that’s the style these days, isn’t it?”  Her father spluttered while her mother poured a glass of milk and finger combed Hiroki’s unruly hair.  “You’re in need of a haircut.”

 

“Mom!” he protested.

 

“ _Nice_?” he gasped.  “ _Nice_?  She should change this instant!”  His hands clenched in his newspaper and he took a vicious bite out of his toast, spilling crumbs on his new tie.  “She looks like a hoodlum.”

 

“I thought she was goth?” her mother replied.

 

Yumi groaned.  “I’m not a goth!” she exclaimed.  She shoved her chair back and grabbed her bag from where she’d dropped it on the floor.  “I’m going to school.”

 

“What about your breakfast?” her mother called.

 

“I’ll eat at school!”  She grabbed a granola bar on her way out and escaped to school half an hour early.

 

. . … . .

 

Odd had a glint in his eyes and a mischievous quirk to his smile that reminded Yumi a little too much of her little brother.  He sprawled on the bench next to Ulrich and gave her a once over.  She wanted to cross her arms over her chest but wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her squirm.  Ulrich elbowed Odd away from him but the blonde just resumed his previous position as soon as the offending appendage was removed.

 

“So you’re a goth?” he asked.

 

Jeremie looked up distractedly from his laptop.  He gave her a small smile and rolled his eyes at Odd before returning to his typing.  Yumi’s eyes narrowed while Ulrich elbowed Odd again, this time in the ribs.  “I’m not a goth,” she replied.

 

“Right,” Odd agreed.  He eyed Yumi.  “You sure you aren’t a goth?  You look the part, pale with dark hair and clothes…”

 

“I’m.  Not.  A. Goth.”

 

“I mean, at first I thought it was just that you were having a black day, but you’ve come to school like this for two days straight.  I’m surprised your geisha get up isn’t black on Ly-”

 

Jeremie made a strangled sound and glowered at Odd over the top of his glasses.  “ _Odd_ ,” he warned.

 

“Well, I’m just surprised you wore color,” he supplied.

 

“Says the boy who always wears purple?” she retorted.  Odd’s eyes narrowed and his smile twisted to something just shy of malicious.

 

“Girls love a guy who’s in touch with his femininity,” he replied.  His eyes flicked over her again.  “Guys probably think you’re on your way to a funeral.”

 

“Don’t be an ass,” Ulrich muttered.  Odd shrugged and ran a hand through his newly styled hair.

 

“Too late,” Yumi snapped.  She stepped over Odd’s outstretched legs and took a seat next to Jeremie on the other bench.  Ulrich gave her a helpless look and she rolled her eyes.  “It’s in his DNA.”

 

“Ha-ha-ha,” Odd replied when Ulrich snorted.  “It’s an easy assumption to make.”

 

“Except when emphatically disputed,” Yumi returned.  Odd shrugged and pulled out a notebook and paper.  Yumi dug through her own bag to find the novel she was supposed to have finished three days ago.  “ _Goth_ ,” she muttered under her breath.  She ignored Ulrich’s smile and opened the book.

 

. . … . .

 

Hina squealed when she opened her door and threw her arms around her.  “Yumi!” she shrieked.  “I’ve missed you so much!”  She took a step back and her eyebrows disappeared under her hair.  “I know you’ve always had a proclivity for black…but goth?”

 

Yumi’s eyes rolled as Hina pulled her into the apartment.  “Not you too,” she sighed.  “My grandmother scolded for twenty-eight minutes straight about my _lifestyle choices_ ,” she moaned.  “I’m not goth.  I just like black.”

 

Hina’s eyes danced and she led her down the hall to her room.  “It’s a bit shocking.  When you lived here you wore _some_ color.”  Hina shoved her into the large pink chairs and took a seat on her bed.  “So tell me…how hot are French guys?”

 

Yumi chuckled.  “ _Hina_.”

 

“Don’t deprive me, Yumi.”

 

“Not that much,” she replied.  “There is one…but he’s not French, he’s German.  The only thing is…”  Her face heated and she shrugged.  Hina laughed and threw a pillow at her head.

 

“Don’t leave me hanging!”

 

“Well…we just met.  And he’s a year younger…”

 

“You cougar!” Hina teased.  “But he’s hot?  What’s his name?”

 

“Forget it, what about you?  You’ve only talked about school in your emails lately.”  Yumi twirled the pink chair from side-to-side and studied her friend curiously.  Hina shrugged a thin shoulder and chewed on the ends of a lock of hair.

 

“Oh, nothing much.  You know…”

 

“Come on, spill it!”  She tossed the pillow back.  “Hina?”

 

“Nothing!  Really!” Hina protested.  She laughed and started in on a long story about her sister’s latest cooking failure and Yumi forgot the secretive look in her eye.

 

. . … . .

 

“I _don’t get it_.” 

 

Sissi’s voice had gotten progressively louder until Ulrich had been forced to grab her by the arm and pull her out of the courtyard and nearer to the sports field.  Yumi stood with Odd and Jeremie and watched Ulrich try and calm the girl.  Sissi’s hands flailed and one of them connected with Ulrich’s shoulder.

 

“Ten Euros says she’ll run sobbing by,” Odd said.  He was already digging in his pocket for the money.

 

“ _Odd_ ,” Jeremie groaned.  He rolled his eyes at the other blonde.  “Sissi’d have to have _feelings_ for that to happen.”

 

Yumi smirked and leaned a shoulder against the brick wall behind them.  “I’ll take that bet.”  They handed their money to Jeremie for safe keeping and Jeremie sighed. 

 

She watched as Ulrich put a hand on Sissi’s shoulder.  The girl stilled and she looked over at their group.  “This should be good,” Odd noted.

 

Yumi wasn’t sure if it was good, but it was entertaining.  Sissi’s voice increased in pitch as Ulrich stepped away.  He walked slowly back to their group, hands deep in his pockets.  Yumi couldn’t hear all the words but she caught the end well enough.  The whole courtyard caught the end.  “- _for that goth-girl Ishiyama, aren’t you_?” Sissi screamed. 

 

“I’m not a goth,” Yumi seethed.

 

Odd snorted and cackled, leaned against Jeremie and they watched Sissi storm dry-eyed away to the rear of the school.

 

Ulrich reached their group and offered them a thin smile.  “Come on,” he said.  “Let’s go get supper.” 

 

. . … . .

 

“Don’t forget I want you home by ele-” 

 

Her father’s voice broke off suddenly and she looked up curiously.  “Dad?  Is everything okay?”  She grabbed her phone and checked for texts or missed calls.  She wasn’t ready to admit it was becoming an obsession.

 

“I…uh, you look nice, Yumi.”  Her father blinked at her from the armchair.  She frowned in confusion.  He’d seen her wear the deep burgundy dress before and hadn’t commented on it before.  “I forgot what color looked like on you.”

 

Her eyes narrowed into a scowl.  “Don’t start, please.”

 

“Right, well.  Eleven, remember that.”  She nodded and slipped her phone into the small purse her mother had bought her last week.  “Have fun at the dance.”

 

“Thanks.”  She kissed his cheek and slipped out the door.

 

. . … . .

 

She could feel the eyes staring at her.  She lifted her gaze from the novel she was reading for class and spotted Aelita watching her curiously across the library table.  “Something wrong?” she asked.  She wondered if this was Aelita’s way of telling her there was something on her face.

 

Aelita’s face flushed and she shrugged.  “No…I just…Well, Odd and I were watching a movie last night-” 

 

Yumi could see where this was going but she still had to ask.  “Oh, really?  And…?”

 

Aelita’s cheeks darkened minutely.  “He was explaining cliques and styles and well…you’re…goth…?” she asked tentatively. 

 

She closed her eyes and counted silently to ten.  “No,” she replied.

 

“Oh.”  Her forehead creased.  “Emo?  Punk?”

 

Yumi snorted at the last one and shook her head.  “I’m just me.  I like black,” she said simply.  “Like you like pink and Odd likes purple.”  She watched Aelita think it over, chewing her lip as she thought. 

 

“I see,” she said finally.  “So you won’t mind if we go shopping?”

 

“I won’t,” Yumi agreed with a smile.  “Saturday at two?”  Aelita beamed.

 

. . … . .

 

Yumi hesitated.  She twisted to study her reflection in the mirror and smoothed the skirt again.  There was a knock on the front door and she heard her mother call her name.  She slipped her feet into her shoes and grabbed her purse before heading downstairs. 

 

Will’s eyes lit up when they saw her and she felt the beginnings of a blush stain her cheeks.  He let out a low whistle.  “You look _great_.”

 

“Thanks,” she replied.

 

Her father entered from the kitchen, attracted by Will’s whistle.  Hiroki trailed him.  His face paled before turning red while Hiroki stopped and stared.  “Go change.”

 

She looked over at him in surprise and Will’s grin was quickly smothered.  “What?  Why?”

 

“I won’t have you dressed as some…some...”  Her father seemed at a loss for words.  He clenched his fists and rubbed at his face.  “Go put on something decent. That black dress you have.”

 

“This is decent!” she exclaimed.  Hiroki snickered and she glowered.  “Shut-up, runt.”  She turned to Will.  “It’s okay, right?”

 

Will looked uneasy.  “I think you look great in everything,” he said finally.  He shot a cautious side-eyed look to her father.

 

“I thought you didn’t like the black.”  She glanced down at the red dress she was wearing.  It might have been a little shorter than her usual but it was hardly _indecent_.    

 

“That’s beside the point!  Yumi, I’m not going to say it again.” 

 

“Say what?” her mother questioned as she entered the hall.  She was fumbling with putting batteries in the digital camera, cursing softly in Japanese. 

 

“Do you see what your daughter is wearing, Akiko?”

 

Her mother spared a look at her, and offered a smile.  “Yes, doesn’t she look beautiful?”  Her father spluttered furiously.  “Doesn’t she?”  She didn’t wait for a response but waved Yumi and Will together.  “I want pictures!” she exclaimed.

 

“Mom!” she protested.

 

“Beautiful?” her father managed to gasp.  “Beautiful?  Look at that hemline!  Look at that neckline – not _you_!” he exclaimed when Will glanced at Yumi.  “You keep your eyes and hands to yourself.  ( _“Dad!” she protested angrily_.)  She should change this instant!” 

 

“Hush, Takeyo,” her mother snapped.  “Our daughter looks like a beautiful young woman.  Now, smile.”  She clicked the camera repeatedly, until Yumi was half blind from the flash. 

 

“Okay, we’re going, we’re going to be late,” Yumi said after the twentieth flash.  She grabbed Will’s hand, tugging him to the door.  “Bye.”

 

“Bye, Mr. Ishiyama, Mrs. Ishiyama.  See ya, kiddo,” Will called.

 

“I want you home by nine!” her father hollered as they crossed the porch.

 

“Takeyo,” her mother sighed.  “Eleven, Yumi.  You’re to be home by eleven,” she called.  As the door closed she heard her mother laugh.  “Honestly, Takeyo, at least it isn’t black.  I was getting tired of her goth phase.”

 

Yumi groaned, her head found Will’s shoulder while his arm wrapped around her.  “I’m not a goth,” she groaned.

 

They crossed the street and he chuckled.  “I know,” he laughed.  He kissed the top of her head and she smiled. 


	6. Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Language, snarkiness, death.
> 
> **Rating:** PG
> 
> **Author's Note:** Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait. I had a lot of schoolwork and then I got sick and well...I was still kind of sick when I finished this so let me know if it sounds loopy.

_5\. She seriously considered leaving Sissi to drown during one X.A.N.A. attack (she didn't, but the guilt stayed with her)._

Yumi's phone vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out as she hurried across the courtyard toward the cafeteria where she was supposed to meet the boys. There was a soft drizzle falling from the grey clouds overhead and it was beginning to pick up. It was from Ulrich and she felt a smile war with a frown.

_XANA_.

The frown won. A moment later it buzzed again, this time from Jeremie.  _Heading to factory from gym. Meet you there._

She typed a response and took off for the trees.

"And where are  _you_  going?"

Yumi groaned but didn't stop. "Not now, Sissi." She wondered if the girl would follow her into the sewers or if she'd be too worried about getting something on her new shoes.

"You're up to something," Sissi protested. "Are you meeting up with Ulrich? I know you four are up to something."

"We are not. Go away," Yumi snapped. She kept an eye out for anything attack-worthy but the woods were silent. Except for the rumble of thunder overhead. The rain picked up, falling haphazardly through the leaves.

"He was never this secretive before  _you_  came into the picture," Sissi reported. " _Ugh_ , why does there have to be  _mud_?" she whined.

"There isn't any at the  _school_ ," Yumi retorted. "Go. Away."

"No. I don't know what you have over Ulrich but I'm going to find out."

Yumi groaned and spun around, glaring at Sissi. She was close to the sewer entrance now and she could hear the river running just beyond the shrubs. She had to get rid of Sissi  _now_. "I don't have anything over Ulrich," Yumi snapped. "We're friends. He  _likes_  hanging out with me. He  _doesn't_  like you. You're annoying and persistent and you're so full of yourself that you think everyone wants to fall over themselves to be next to the great Elisabeth Delmas and –"

She stopped at the look on Sissi's face. Sissi's mouth curled into a sneer and her eyes narrowed. "I don't know why I bother," she muttered. "I hope you all get caught and expelled for whatever it is you're doing."

"Well, at least it would mean going to a school away from  _you_ ," Yumi replied. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and the rain soaked through her clothes. "Just go back to school," she sighed.

Yumi turned on her heel and stomped off before Sissi could respond.

She had the manhole open when she heard the crash and scream. She hesitated, listening. All she could hear now was the rumble of thunder and the persistent patter of the increasing downpour. "Sissi?" she called. She let the cover fall back into place with a sharp  _clang_.

Nothing.

Groaning as her phone buzzed again, she stood and retraced her steps to where she had last seen Sissi. She stopped and blinked the rainwater out of her eyes. There was a gaping hole where there wasn't one before. Hesitantly, she crossed the grass and edged along the perimeter trying to see Sissi in the pit.

"Sissi?" she called again. There was a groan and for a moment she thought it was Sissi. And then the earth gave way beneath her feet.

/

Yumi felt as though she'd been hit by a truck, or something. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. She was sitting in a room, she realized. It looked like a maintenance room for the sewers. And it was filled with broken concrete and muddy earth and water. She looked around, noticed the rusty broken pipe jutting out of the wall that poured water. That and the downpour seemed to be what was quickly filling the room with water.

She wondered briefly if this was the X.A.N.A. attack or just fate's twisted sense of humor. Yumi tucked her hair behind her ears and looked around again. There was a metal door set in the wall beneath the pipe, a support bar slanted across it. Sissi was curled in a corner, eyes closed and breathing shallow. She didn't look injured from here though.

She got to her feet and managed to knock the support beam aside but the door wouldn't move. Icy water poured over her head and she backed away quickly. After a moment of contemplating the door she pulled out her phone. The screen was black and when she pressed the power button it gave a dull whine and a feeble shake before falling silent again. "Shit," she grumbled.

She kicked at the door angrily. A metallic  _clang_  echoed and despite her boots her toes ached. "Must you?" Sissi whined from behind her. She wouldn't admit that she was happy to hear that she wasn't dead.

"Forgive me for trying to get us out of here," Yumi snapped.

Sissi groaned and her head connected with the dirt-smeared wall. "My head hurts. I think I'm going to puke." There was a pause and she heard Sissi shift. "Why am I all wet? There's water everywhere."

Yumi counted to ten before turning to face her. "It's raining, and there's a broken pipe." Sissi made a face like it was  _her_ fault they were in a flooding room. "You hit your head pretty hard," she added. Sissi groaned and drew her knees up to her chin. "It might help to put your head between your legs?"

"I  _know_  that, Ishiyama," Sissi growled. "I'm not an idiot." She bent her head and took deep, shuddering breaths. "Honestly, of all the people in the  _entire_  school, I'm stuck with  _you_?"

"I thought your head hurt?" Yumi snapped. She went back to attempting to break the door or attract someone's attention, not that she expected anyone to be wandering the woods but maybe there was a maintenance worker or-

"I almost wouldn't mind Della Robbia," Sissi sighed in the echoes.

/

Yumi tried her phone again. The rain had let up but the pipe was still gushing and while some of the water was draining through the crack under the door, most of it wasn't. It was up past her ankles now. Sissi sat trembling in a corner, bent over a bucket and vomiting intermittently.

"Good thing maintenance left that bucket here, huh?" Yumi asked conversationally. Sissi made a disgruntled noise.

Her phone beeped and fell silent _._

She sighed and rubbed her face. Repeated kicks to the door had done nothing but make her foot and ankle throb painfully. She debated on going over and rubbing Sissi's shoulder or holding her hair back while she puked up her stomach while she waited for  _someone_  to find them, or for the Return, or something. Sissi made a gurgled noise and sat back, hand over her mouth and eyes glassy and distorted. "You okay?" Yumi asked.

Sissi ignored her question. "Was that Ulrich?" she asked.

Yumi shook her head and slid down the wall. She tilted her head back and studied the grey clouds and swaying branches overhead. If she could just get up there and get help… "No," she replied after a moment. "The water killed my phone." Sissi groaned and muttered something under her breath. It sounded like German and Yumi frowned. "I think you have a concussion."

"No duh," Sissi snapped. "Captain obvious, aren't you?"

"Hey, I'm  _trying_  to be nice, we're stuck here."

" _Really_?"

/

Sissi studied her through unfocused eyes and yawned widely. Yumi kicked her leg and Sissi glared at her. Her movement sent water splashing up around her waist. "Hey, no sleeping. We don't know how much more messed up your brain is right now."

"Can't be worse than Della Robbia's," Sissi stated. Yumi stared for a moment. Sissi cracked a smile and Yumi laughed.

"Yeah, can't be worse," she agreed. She heard something creak outside and frowned. "Did you hear that?"

"Wha-?"

She jumped up and began to hit the door again with a metal rod she'd found earlier. Tried to pry it open and felt one of her nails give. Blood streaked the door and then she heard Sissi vomiting again. There was another creak and then a hiss. "Can't handle blood?" she asked when the noises behind her stopped. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" She kicked at the door.

"Shut-up. I'm not a wuss." There was a pause and Yumi pressed her ear to the door to listen. There was a gurgling sound from the other side of the door. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Listening."

"To what?"

And that's when the water bubbled up from under the door.

/

Sissi breathed heavily in a corner. She was still sitting and the water was high on her waist. Yumi moved away from the door and the pipe. The most she could figure was that the sewer had overflowed the walkways and was fighting its way into the room.

"We have to try and get out," Yumi stated.

"I thought that was what you'd been  _trying_  to do," Sissi replied. Her voice was weak and Yumi eyed her. She didn't look good. Her skin was pale and drawn, her breathing coming in sharp pants and breathy gasps.

"Yeah, well, the door isn't working, is it?" Yumi snapped. She eyed the walls and wondered if Sissi could hold steady enough to give her a boost up. All she needed was to get a hold on the earth above and she'd be good. She didn't understand what was taking the guys so long. "Do you think you can stand?"

"Of course I can…Why?"

"Maybe you can boost me up. If I can get high enough then I can get out."

"No way, you'll just leave me here," Sissi retorted. "If I'm going to die you are too."

Yumi rolled her eyes and tugged at her hair. "You aren't going to die!"

Sissi's arms crossed over her chest and she looked at the rising water pointedly. "No?" she asked. "Then boost  _me_  out."

Yumi glowered. "You're concussed. You won't make it five feet before collapsing or throwing up or something. I can get back to the school and find Jim." Sissi's face darkened and Yumi narrowed her eyes. "You know I'm right."

" _Fine_ ," Sissi snapped. She staggered to her feet and shivered, gasped, and almost fell to her knees before Yumi grabbed her arm.

"What is it?"

"Dizzy," she replied. "And my ankle hurts. A lot." She winced and her face looked pinched. "Okay, let's do this." She moved to the wall and braced herself against it, wincing as she waded into the muddier section. Her hands formed a stirrup and she hunched over slightly. "Come on," she ordered.

Yumi hesitated, Sissi really looked unwell, before putting her foot in Sissi's cupped hands. "On the count of three?"

"Just, now," Sissi snapped.

Yumi pushed off with her other foot at the same time that Sissi straightened. She scrabbled at the ground and managed to grab onto something sturdy. She pulled and wiggled and managed to swing her leg up onto the solid ground. Gasping, she rolled over and stared up at the grey clouds.

"Hey!" Sissi called from below. "You're supposed to be getting Jim! Are you listening to me? Ishiyama!"

Yumi laid there counting heartbeats and breathing deeply. The air wasn't really any different up here, but somehow it was. She sat up and wrung out her shirt. She wondered if she should try and get Sissi out. She debated on going for Jim. She wondered if she should head for the factory.

She was three steps toward the manhole when she heard Sissi scream her name.

/

The water was rising faster and Yumi leaned as far as she dared over the edge of the pit. Sissi was treading water and looking faint. "Come on," she ordered, hand outstretched. "Just grab it, I'll pull you up."

"You  _were_  going to leave me," Sissi accused.

"Shut-up and reach," Yumi snapped. She inched a bit farther out and felt some of the earth give way. Dammit, she was going to kill the guys when she got ahold of them. "Come  _on_."

Sissi reached out, hand just shy of connecting with Yumi's. Yumi cursed and stretched farther. She wasn't sure how she was going to pull her up but she had to try. She'd waited too long to try and get out and the water was pouring in faster and if a Return didn't happen she was going to kill someone. Sissi faltered and went under for a moment, came up spluttering and looking terrified.

"Fuck," Yumi cursed. She got to her feet, ignored Sissi's terrified yelp, and jumped into the pit. The water was colder than she remembered. She managed to get an arm around Sissi and drag her toward the corner farthest from the spluttering pipe. "Come on, try and get out," she ordered.

"I'm tired," Sissi replied. Her body wasn't shaking anymore and Yumi felt Sissi go limp.

Yumi growled. She would not have Elisabeth Delmas's death on her conscience. It was unaccept-

/

Yumi's phone vibrated in her pocket. She fished it out as she hurried across the courtyard toward the cafeteria where she was supposed to meet the boys. There was a soft drizzle falling from the grey clouds overhead and it was beginning to pick up. It was from Ulrich and she felt a smile war with a frown.

_Missed you_.

The smile won.

. . … . .

"You cut it a little sharp there at the end, goofing off like that," Yumi said to Odd. She bumped his shoulder and he laughed and bumped hers back. Ulrich shook his head and followed just behind them. She could practically hear his eyes rolling.

"Nah, I'm an ace with timing. Don't be so uptight, Yumi," Odd snorted. "You have to put on a bit of show, otherwise where's the fun?"

"It isn't supposed to be fun," Yumi replied. She wanted to question who he was putting on the show for but figured it would be safer if she didn't know. All they needed was Odd to try and make Aelita his next conquest, despite Jeremie's obvious infatuation.

"Yeah, yeah, you're starting to sound like Einstein," Odd groaned.

"When do you think we set back to?" Ulrich asked. "We're still at the factory."

"Don't know, we'll ask Einstein, hopefully it was after Hertz's test," Odd replied. He bounded into the supercomputer room ahead of them. "Hey, Einstein-!"

Yumi froze in the doorway, stared at the boy sitting hunched in the chair, head in his hands and shoulders shaking. She didn't have to see the screen to know something went wrong. She just wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was.

/

Jeremie's eyes were ringed in black. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week, which was exactly how long it had been since…since. Yumi sat on Ulrich's desk chair and watched Jeremie run distracted hands through his hair.

"Philippe Dumas," he said finally. "Six-years-old." He took a breath and stared at one of the posters taped above Ulrich's bed. "Freak accident, died by strangulation from an electrical cord."

Yumi inhaled sharply. Ulrich was staring at his hands; Odd was scratching Kiwi behind the ears.

"Funeral's in two days," Jeremie added in the quiet.

"We should go," Yumi stated.

"That would raise questions," Jeremie protested. "Unneeded questions."

They were silent except for the occasional rustle as Odd shifted on his bed. "Yumi's right," Ulrich said finally. "We don't have to…we don't have to make ourselves known. But we should be there. It's our fault."

Odd looked up, eyes locked on his roommate. "It's X.A.N.A.'s fault," he said quietly.

"It's ours too," Ulrich said softly.

"This is a mistake," Jeremie announced. But he didn't complain.

/

"Jeremie," she murmured. She laid on his bed while he typed on his laptop, fingers flying on the keys. Her finger traced the black letters on her wrist, her nail scraped along the vein. "Jeremie, I almost did something terrible."

"Confess your love to Ulrich?" he asked.

" _What_?" She sat up and glared at the back of his head. "No. I don't love Ulrich."

"Of course not," Jeremie replied. "What did you almost do? Tell someone about Lyoko?" He turned to eye her over his shoulder through narrowed, suspicious eyes.

" _No_ ," she snapped. "Never mind," she added. "It was a stupid mistake that won't happen again."

His eyes softened and he got up. She scooted over as he sat down next to her. His hand rested on her shoulder and he looked at her curiously. "Yumi, are you okay?"

Her chest tightened and she nodded. "Yeah. I'm good." She took a deep breath and focused on the letters and numbers on her wrist.

Jeremie's eyes drifted to them as well and he sighed. "Don't you think it's time you scrubbed those off?" he asked gently. "Isn't it time to forget?"

"Forget?" she repeated. "How could you want to forget?"

His blue eyes were confused when they met hers. "How could you not?" he asked.

/

Odd found her at the gravesite a month after the funeral. He didn't seem surprised, even if she was. He fussed with the wreath and plush animals decorating the grave before adding a teddy bear and bouquet of calla lilies to the offerings.

He gave a small smile when he caught her look. "You should stop beating yourself up," he told her. He squeezed her shoulder tentatively. "What's done is done."

"It could have been Sissi," she said. He looked up at her in shock and she felt her face pale. She hadn't meant to say that.

"What?"

"Sissi," she repeated. Odd took her arm and guided her to a bench. She stared out over the cemetery and tried to ignore his look. "Two months ago, when I didn't make it to the X.A.N.A. attack," she murmured. "Do you remember?"

"You said there was a cave in?"

"Yeah…Sissi was with me." She swallowed and shrugged. "She was concussed and there was a broken water pipe. It filled up pretty fast. I got out and I almost left her. I didn't think…I mean, I thought a Return would…even if something happened…"

Odd was silent, his lips pressed together.

"I…"

"It wasn't your fault," Odd said slowly. "Even if…even if it had been Sissi, it wouldn't have been your fault. You wouldn't have known, none of us knew. It would be hard, harder than this because we go to school with her and Delmas would have been crushed, you know? And Ulrich…" he trailed off and Yumi looked at him.

"Ulrich would have hated me."

"Ulrich would have gotten over it," he said with some conviction. He hesitated and then looked at her. "Why did you? Save her, I mean."

Yumi shrugged. "I wasn't going to. I was already at the manhole but…she screamed my name. Yumi, not Ishiyama. I could tell something was really wrong then."

Odd nodded. His hand rested on her shoulder briefly, squeezed it gently. He got to his feet and looked down at her. "I'm going back to the school, you coming?"

"No, I'm going to stay for a while."

He nodded again and then paused. "Yumi, it doesn't matter who it was. It was going to suck anyway. We know better now, and it's a good thing you care. It means you're a good person."

She rolled her eyes but smiled a little. She managed to wait until he disappeared through the iron gates before she drew her knees up and sobbed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** None
> 
> **Rating:** G
> 
> **Author's Note:** So, I disappeared for awhile to a magical place full of textbooks, projects, and research papers...Trust me, _never_ take nine classes in one semester if you can help it. Anyway, I'm back and here is the newest chapter. Hope you like it, let me know what you think!

_6\. There was a time when she honestly believed that she and Ulrich would last forever._

 

“Word is the new guy’s taken,” Shannon lamented.  She dropped her lunch tray onto the table and heaved a melodramatic sigh.

 

“Which new guy?” Yumi questioned.  It was a valid question.  It was the first week of school and there had been an influx of new students this year. 

 

“Ulrich Stern.”  Yumi snorted.

 

The whole school had been buzzing about this particular new guy – the football starter who was going to take them to the championships.  Yumi had listened to the gossip with half an ear as she flipped through one of her science books during her last class.  According to the girls in her class he was hot, even if he was a year younger.  The guys boasted of his skills on the field. 

 

She found the whole thing just shy of ridiculous.  All this fuss over an eighth grade jock.

 

“By whom?” she asked when Shannon wouldn’t stop staring at her.

 

“Only you would say _whom_ ,” Shannon groaned.  She tore her roll into pieces and glanced around surreptitiously.  “Sissi Delmas,” she whispered.

 

“Ugh.  The guy’s a jerk then.  I don’t know why you’re even interested, he’s _younger_ than us, remember?  And I doubt he’s as hot as they say he is.”

 

“You haven’t seen him then?”

 

“ _No_ ,” Yumi replied.  She drew out the “o” for good measure.  “Because he’s a year younger.”  Shannon gave her a calculating look and dipped her bread in the pasta sauce silently.

 

She forgot about the conversation until she walked into the gym for Pencak Silat.

 

There was a guy she didn’t recognize in there already.  He was stretching out on one of the mats.  He didn’t look like much, lightly tanned skin with brown hair.  He hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet since he looked shorter than her.  She dropped her bag and he looked over and she stopped.  His eyes were a dark brown and there was something calculating in them, something she couldn’t figure out.

 

“You here for the class?” she asked.

 

“Thought I was the only one,” he admitted.  His French had a slight accent to it, a bit gruffer than what she was used to hearing.  He stood and held out a hand.  “Ulrich Stern.” 

 

“Yumi Ishiyama,” she replied.  His hand was warm and dry when she shook it.

 

. . … . .

 

“Did you see Jim’s face after the pie exploded?” Ulrich questioned.  He dropped down next to her and she smiled when she saw the grin on his face.  It wasn’t often that Ulrich grinned wider than Odd did. 

 

“Did you see _Sissi’s_?” she retorted.  It had been brilliant, if messy.  Odd’s chocolate cream pies had exploded in perfect unison throughout the cafeteria.  Yumi laughed at the memory of Sissi’s face dripping chocolate cream.

 

“Yeah,” Ulrich agreed.  “But come on, Jim looked like a chocolate snowman.  He was standing _right_ next tothe pies when they blew.”  He chuckled and she joined in, and then they were both laughing too hard.  The sun slanted through the leaves and for the first time she noticed that some of the strands in his hair looked golden. 

 

She reached out to touch them in surprise.  But her fingers had a mind of their own and they tangled up tight in his hair and her lips were on his.  Ulrich kissed her back, hands knotted up in her own hair and when her teeth caught his lip he only groaned and _shit_.

 

Yumi broke first, because if she didn’t she wouldn’t and she was _not_ that type of girl. 

 

“Well,” he said.  He had a small smile on his face, his cheeks tinged pink, and he reached up to tuck her tangled hair behind her ear.

 

She doubled over laughing until he followed suit.  It was ridiculous.  Hadn’t she just told him a month ago that a relationship between them was impossible?  He was her friend and she didn’t want to give that up.  Not now, not ever.  They leaned together, her forehead pressed to his shoulder and his fingers dancing across her shoulders, until they caught their breath again.  “I don’t usually kiss on a first date,” she groaned.  She wondered if she’d just lived up to every rumor Robert Nattier had ever spread about her.

 

Below her forehead his shoulder rose in a shrug.  “Good thing this wasn’t a date, huh?” he teased, and she maybe, just maybe, loved him for it.  For not making this awkward.  For not calling her any of the names the boys in her grade liked to joke about.  “How about Friday night, seven-thirty?  We can have dinner in town.”

 

 “Sounds good,” she agreed.

 

//

 

Her father glowered while she didn’t pace in the front hall.  “I thought you two were just friends?” he asked gruffly.

 

“Yumi and Ulrich sitting in a tree-” Hiroki chirped from his perch on the stairs.

 

“Finish that song and you’ll be wishing-”

 

The doorbell rang and Yumi jumped.  Her father’s eyes narrowed.  Her mother appeared from the living room, grinning and gushing.  She straightened her father’s shirt and brushed some of Yumi’s hair out of her face. 

 

“Can’t you guys go linger someplace else?” Yumi whined.  She paused with her hand on the doorknob.

 

“Nonsense,” her mother replied.  “I want pictures.”  She lifted her camera as proof.  Yumi wished, not for the first time, that she had never bought that camera as a gift for her mother’s last birthday. “I need proof for your grandmother that you don’t just wear black.”  Yumi grit her teeth and smoothed down the skirt of her cobalt dress.  “Even if it is nearly as dark.”

 

“I want to talk to the boy,” her father snapped.

 

“And I’m enjoying this,” Hiroki added.

 

Yumi groaned and swung the door open.  Ulrich offered her a small smile and held out a hand to her father.  “Sir,” he said.  Her father snorted but shook his hand.

 

“Now, listen here, I don’t want any-”

 

“Pictures!” her mother chirped.

 

It took three threats, fifteen pictures, eight unhelpful comments from her darling brother, and five reassurances that she’d be home by eleven before they were able to escape.

 

//

 

“Did I say you look nice because you do,” Ulrich said.  “I mean, you look great all the time but you look-”

 

“Ulrich, it’s fine.  I know what you mean.  Thanks.”  She willed the blush away and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.  “You look good too.”  She fiddled with her necklace and smiled at the way his cheeks flushed to almost the same shade as hers. 

 

Ulrich held her hand and opened the door of the pub for her.  He smiled and listened and asked her questions she wasn’t sure she wanted to answer, but answered anyway.  He didn’t mention school or their classmates.  He gave her order to the waitress and didn’t let his eyes linger on her short skirt the way Ryan Carrigan had when he took her out a few months back.

 

She felt herself relax and laugh and was surprised at how very _not awkward_ it was. 

 

Why hadn’t she let this happen earlier?

 

“Do you miss Japan?” Ulrich questioned.  He broke his breadstick in two and dipped it in the garlic oil absently.

 

“Sometimes, the festivals mostly.  The traditions.  My family and friends.”  He nodded and she didn’t mention that she really only kept in contact with one friend now.  “Do you miss Germany?”

 

He shrugged and his jaw clenched briefly around the piece of bread he’d bitten into.  “What was your favorite festival?” he asked.

 

She knew he was dodging the question, but she loved Japan’s festivals enough to let it slide.  She watched as he leaned back in his booth, arms crossed loosely and smile gently curling his mouth.  His eyes never left hers and when he reached across to squeeze her hand when she paused, she felt the shiver from her hair to her toes at the contact.

 

After dinner they walked around town.  They talked about classes and teachers, about the upcoming tournament and the lack of students interested in learning pencak silat.  “Want an ice cream?” he asked.

 

“Sure,” she replied.

 

They stopped at the little cart in the square and waited as a group of younger kids ordered.  She got a cup of strawberry-peanut butter ice cream and eyed the cup he held.  “Have enough chocolate?” she teased. 

 

Ulrich flushed as he looked down at the cup in his hand.  It was chocolate coated in hot fudge.  She opened her mouth to apologize but he shrugged.  “I like chocolate,” he replied simply.  “How’s the ice cream?”

 

“Mm, really good,” she replied.  She scooped some up and offered him the spoon.  “Want some?”

 

“Nah, not really fan of that flavor.”

 

“Strawberry?”

 

“No, peanut butter.”  He shrugged at the look on her face and pointed to an empty bench near the fountain.  “Want to sit?”

 

“Sure,” she agreed. 

 

//

 

He brought her home at ten-fifty.

 

Yumi could see her father waiting in the living room, silhouetted against the blinds.  “I hope you had a good time tonight,” Ulrich said.  He scuffed the toe of his sneaker against her porch, a nervous habit she’d picked up on. 

 

“Of course, didn’t you?” she replied.  He smiled and she took his hand, squeezed it lightly.  “I’m really glad you asked me out.”

 

“I’m glad you said yes.”  He chanced a look at the living room window before leaning in and kissing her cheek gently.  His breath smelled like chocolate and she raised her eyebrows questioningly at him.  “I know you don’t kiss on the first date,” he replied.  Before she could reply he’d backed up and was standing on the stairs.  “Goodnight, Yumi.  I’ll talk to you later.”

 

“Goodnight, Ulrich,” she replied.  She smiled as she unlocked the door and entered.  He waited until she was safe inside before he left. 

 

Yumi watched him go through the sheer drapes covering the front window and thought that maybe she’d found her prince charming after all.

 

“How was your date?” her mother asked from the kitchen.  She was steeping tea and in her fuzzy robe. 

 

“It was…nice,” she said after a moment.  Nice didn’t begin to describe it but it was close enough.  She smiled.  “It was really nice.”

 

“Hmph,” her father harrumphed from the living room.  “At least this boy’s punctual unlike the last one.”

 

“ _Takeyo_ ,” her mother warned.  But Yumi didn’t care.  She grinned all the way up the stairs, through changing and scrubbing her face, and fell asleep with a small smile still in place.

 

. . … . .

 

The thing though, she noticed, was that the happy-feeling lasted.  It wasn’t just a good date, it wasn’t just an interesting conversation or the fact that they were both interested in traveling and martial arts and saving the world.  It was that it never got boring.  They had Common Interests, something the magazines she read in the doctor’s lobby told her was a Good Thing. 

 

So what if they fought occasionally, who didn’t?  Her parents could certainly argue it out but they still loved each other, they were still a family.  Why would she think she was any different?

 

“ _Yumi_.”

 

“Huh, what?”  She looked up and met Ulrich’s eyes.  “I’m sorry, were you saying something?”  He shook his head and laced their fingers together.  _Three months together_ , she thought.  _Three months and we’re still happy, still us_. 

 

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

 

“Nothing, really.  I’m just tired.”  She stretched out her sore arms and caught the smirk he didn’t try to hide.  “That last move was cheating, you realize.”

 

“Sure, sure.”

 

“Just because it works for you on Lyoko doesn’t mean you can do it on Earth,” she added, then nudged him in the ribs for good measure.  She knew her heel had caught him under the fourth.  Sure enough he winced and lost the smug look he’d won since he’d pinned her to the ground earlier.

 

“Yeah, well, it seemed to work fine on you,” he commented.  His fingers combed through the knots in her ponytail and she sighed. 

 

“Maybe next time we should fight on Lyoko and I can watch you duck my fans,” she retorted.  His face closed off like it sometimes did and she frowned, reaching up to touch his shoulder.  “Ulrich?”

 

He shook his head and smiled down at her.  “Nah, it’s fine.  I don’t think we should use the scanners without Jer around, you know what happened to Odd?”

 

“I’m sure he was goofing off.”  He was right though, and she didn’t push it. 

 

//

 

“What did Emily want?” she asked.  Ulrich looked up, surprised. 

 

“What?”

 

“Emily, what did she want?  You were just talking to her on the bleachers and she gave you something?” Yumi added.  Ulrich shrugged and finished crossing the field. 

 

“Nothing, just something for a class.”

 

“A class?”

 

His eyes narrowed and he dragged her behind the gym and away from prying eyes.  “Yes, now drop it.  What’s the big deal?”

 

“The big deal?  There isn’t a big deal.  You could just tell me.”  She crossed her arms and glared at him through narrowed eyes.  “Come on, I know it wasn’t for a class, you don’t have any classes together.”

 

“She edited one of my essays for me for literature, okay?  Can you stop glaring at me like that now?” 

 

“I’m _not_ glaring at you.”

 

“You _are_.”

 

“I’m _not_.”  She grabbed his arm as he went to brush past her and he glared. 

 

“Let go.”

 

“Not until we’re done.  Why didn’t you come to me?  I would have edited it for you.”  Her eyes were still narrowed and her fingers dug into his arm. 

 

“Because you’re busy enough as it is,” he replied.  “Does it matter?”  He jerked his arm and managed to break free only to pin her by the shoulders to the wall of the gym. 

 

“I don’t know, maybe,” she replied.  She pressed back, heels of her hands against his shoulders and sternum.  

 

“It doesn’t.”  He reached up to tangle his fingers in her hair and tug her head back.  “It doesn’t,” he repeated over-and-over against her neck.  He nipped at her skin between each repetition.  He pressed harder against her shoulders and she relaxed back into the wall, waited until he bit at her jawline before she lunged and twisted, reversing their positions.

 

“It _does_ ,” she told him.  “It _does_ because you could have just told me.  Why the big secret?  Why the hedging?  It _matters_.” 

 

“Because I didn’t want this to happen,” he snapped.  His hands were still tangled in her hair and he yanked her forward, kicking out her left leg in the process so that she fell into him.  Into his arms and against his chest, mouths fused together like they were magnets.  He kissed her hard and she pressed back, not giving an inch until he began to relent. 

 

“I didn’t want you to get angry,” he told her in between kisses.  She realized her back was against the rough brick again and had no recollection of when that had happened.  “I know you don’t like Emily.”  Another kiss and she allowed it to be softer, slower, more lingering.  “I didn’t want to fight with you.”

 

“Mm, but making up is always so fun,” she replied.  He laughed until she tugged him back in for another kiss.  And that was the truth, she thought.  Every fight was worth it because the making up made it so.  The kisses, the touches, the jealous and possessive looks that meant that each was _wanted_ , each was _desired_.  She knew Ulrich had those looks, those thoughts, too.  It wasn’t just her.  This was why they worked so well together; this was why they were perfect: they got each other.  They understood that it wasn’t possessiveness or jealousy or dysfunctional; it was so much more than all of that. 

 

It was love.


	8. Insomniac

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** None, unless you count (non canon) het?
> 
>  **Rating:** G
> 
>  **Author's Note:** So, a bit of a wait, but here's the next part. I have to say that I was actually really looking forward to this and basically wanted to keep going but thought it would get a bit...much after awhile. This part is kind of close to me because I have horrible insomnia and often times ate breakfast with my father at a truly ridiculous hour. And that ridiculous hour was the best because it was the only time I really got to see him, so yay, some real life slipping in!

_7\. Her parents wondered how she turned into an insomniac - she could never properly explain that it was because she was waiting for her phone to ring any second._

 

“Yumi,” her father greeted, surprised.  Yumi flashed him a smile over her shoulder and reached for a bowl.  “Why are you awake?”

 

“I took a nap yesterday, guess I’m just not tired,” she replied.  She poured in cereal and added milk.  Her smile was bright even as her father studied her critically.  “How are you?”

 

Her father settled back in his chair and returned to his toast.  “Good and you?”

 

“Good,” she replied.  She tucked her hair behind her ear and let the silence settle in.  The crunch of toast and pop of cereal filled the room, along with the gentle turning of a page and the scrape of a spoon on the edge of a bowl.  Yumi’s eyes drifted to her cell, watching the minutes tick by slowly on the digital clock.

 

“Expecting a call?” her father asked.

 

“What?  No.  Of course not.  It’s four in the morning, who would call now?” she laughed. 

 

“My thoughts exactly.”  He reached forward and she grabbed the phone, secreting it away in the pocket of her hoodie.  An eyebrow arched above his glasses and he calmly grabbed a napkin from the holder in front of her.  She ducked her head to hide flushed cheeks. 

 

. . … . .

 

Yumi woke with a gasp.  Her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead and her she had to peel her shirt away from her chest and stomach.  Her hands fumbled along the side of her bed until she could find her phone in the dark.  She pressed a button, watched the screen light up, and checked phone calls and text messages.

 

 _No new messages_.

 

Her relief came in a whooshed sigh, and she fell back onto the pillows, phone clutched to her chest and heart beating too fast to fall back to sleep.

 

. . … . .

 

Her mother knocked lightly on her bedroom door.  A gentle _tap-tap-tap_ that she didn’t hear over the music pulsing from her ear buds.  She jerked as one ear bud was tugged from her ear.  “Yumi,” her mother sighed.  She ran a hand over her face and gave Yumi a tired look.  “It’s after one in the morning, what are you doing up?  You have school in the morning.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.  I was just studying for my history test tomorrow,” she replied.  She lifted her textbook up like proof and ignored the way her mother studied her face.  “I’ll…I’ll go to bed.  Soon,” she added, dredged up a bright smile from some depth and prayed her mother wouldn’t catch the lie.

 

“Yumi…”  Yumi dropped her gaze and her mother sighed, sat on the edge of her bed and reached for her hand.  “Yumi, is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, everything’s fine.  Great even.  I’m just worried about the test, you know because it’s worth a lot of points and…” she trailed off as her phone buzzed.

 

“Who could possibly be texting you at this hour?” her mother demanded.  She reached for Yumi’s phone but Yumi dropped her book on it and laughed nervously.

 

“No one, probably a wrong number.  Or Shannon.  It could be Shannon, she was studying for the test too.”  She yawned and stretched.  “I’m exhausted, better rest up.  For the test.  Goodnight, Mom.”

 

Her mother sighed and tucked the fallen strands behind Yumi’s ear.  “Go to _sleep_ , Yumi.  Goodnight.”  She flicked the light off and closed the bedroom door behind her.

 

Yumi laid in the dark, eyes staring into space and counted heartbeats until she heard her mother’s door close.  One hundred twenty-eight heartbeats after that she checked her phone and swallowed hard.

 

_X.  ROUS attack.  L in 15._

_-Odd_

 

With a groan she reached for her sweatshirt and pulled it on, popped her window open and swung a leg out.  _Really_? Yumi thought as she dropped to the ground. _Why can’t X.A.N.A. attack at a decent hour?_  

 

. . … . .

 

She woke with a scream, phone clenched tight in her fist and the bitter taste of blood and bile in her mouth.

 

She stumbled to the bathroom, rinsed her mouth, and didn’t sleep the rest of the night.

 

. . … . .

 

“How’s school going?” her father asked.  He ignored her look and spooned more sugar into his hot tea.  She wondered what it said that he didn’t even question her joining him for breakfast at four o’clock anymore.

 

“It’s good.  I got a hundred on my literature essay,” she replied.  She sipped her orange juice and slathered jam on her toast.  “I was the only one in class to do so.”

 

“That’s wonderful,” he replied.  He gave her a warm smile and reached over to ruffle her hair.  “You’ve been studying very hard lately.  Your mother and I are very proud of you.”

 

“Thanks,” she replied, felt the small smile tug at her lips in return.  “How’s work?”

 

Her father’s face turned sour and stiff.  “The usual,” he answered.  “Bureaucratic nonsense.”  He paused and collected his dirty dishes.  “You shouldn’t make plans for Friday.  There’s a party and your mother and I are going, we’ll need you to watch your brother.”

 

“Of course,” Yumi replied.

 

“That’s my girl,” he said with a smile.  He ruffled her hair again on his way past.  She waited until he was heading upstairs to take his shower before she made her first coffee of the day.

 

. . … . .

 

“Yumi.  Yu-mi.  _Yumi_.”

 

She jerked into wakefulness and Odd chortled as she flailed wildly to regain her balance.  She caught herself on the library table while the librarian gave them the evil eye.  Ulrich hit Odd upside the back of the head and Jeremie gathered their belongings quickly and silently.

 

Yumi waited until they were on the library steps before kicking Odd in the shin.  “ _Ow_!” he yelped.  “What was _that_ for?”

 

“Knocking my chair back,” she snapped.

 

“I _tried_ to wake you politely, didn’t I guys?”  Jeremie snorted and Ulrich shrugged.  “I was saving you a fine anyway.  You were about to drool on your book.”

 

“Gee, _thanks_ ,” she muttered.  She rubbed at her mouth and chin self-consciously, but surely Jeremie or Ulrich would be considerate enough to tell her if she had any dried drool.  She felt bone weary and sluggish, her head was stuffy and she couldn’t stifle her yawns.

 

“You okay?” Ulrich asked.

 

“I’m fine,” she replied, flashed a too-brief smile.  “Long day is all.”

 

“Yumi,” Jeremie started but she waved a hand, cut him off.

 

“Really, guys.  I’m fine.  I’ve got to get home, text me if anything happens.”

 

She stumbled home to bed, grabbed a few hours of sleep before the worry and fear took hold.

 

. . … . .

 

She thought it would be easier once Aelita was materialized.  She thought the attacks would lessen, or stop.  She’d thought Jeremie would be able to shut down Lyoko finally.  She didn’t anticipate that it would get _more_ complicated.  That suddenly they wouldn’t be able to use the Returns, which meant she needed to be sneakier.

 

In hindsight, she really should have expected it.

 

. . … . .

 

“All I’m saying, Takeyo, is that if you worked _decent_ hours she wouldn’t be up half the night just to spend some time with you.”

 

Yumi laid on her bed, stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars she’d recently tacked to her ceiling and listened to the argument downstairs.

 

“Have you _seen_ her lately?  The rings around her eyes are so dark-”

 

“I thought that was how she was wearing her make-up these days,” her father protested.  Her mother made a shrill huffing noise of anger and Yumi curled on her side.  She felt for her pulse, counted heartbeats and breaths and willed herself to fall asleep.

 

“You never notice _anything_!  She is up half the night and wakes early to eat with you.  Something is wrong with her!”

 

“It’s a phase, Akiko.  I was a night owl when I was younger.”

 

“I’m just saying-”

 

“I know what you’re saying!”

 

Her phone buzzed as she drifted on the edge of sleep.  Her eyes snapped open and she checked the new text.

 

_Showtime.  Swrs n 10. – U_

 

She groaned and rolled out of bed.

 

. . … . .

 

She woke with a gasp, her heart pounded in her chest.  Her phone had fallen to the floor in the middle of the night and she groped blindly for it, checked for missed calls, missed texts.  Nothing. 

 

She smiled as she sunk back into sleep.

 

. . … . .

 

“I’ve missed you,” her father stated late one Saturday morning.  Yumi looked up from the bowl of cereal she was pouring herself.  The clock read 10:02 over his left shoulder.  “Breakfast has been lonely without you,” he added.

 

“Oh, yeah.  I’m sorry, I’ve just…”

 

“It’s fine.”  He cupped her cheeks in his hands and studied her face intently.  “You’re fine, aren’t you?”

 

“Of course I am, Dad,” she muttered.  She grabbed her bowl and a spoon and escaped his searching eyes.  “I miss our breakfasts too,” she said as she sat down.  And she did, really.  It felt nice to tell the truth for once.  She looked up to see him settling down in his seat, a cup of tea and a piece of toast in front of him.

 

“Maybe we can do brunch instead?” he asked.

 

She smiled at him.  “I’d like that,” she agreed.


	9. Advances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Cursing.
> 
> **Rating:** PG-13
> 
> **Author's Note:** Hey everyone, so the wait was due to me having a fit and trying to figure out what kind of ending I wanted for this. Because believe me, it was a toss-up, literally. I went back and forth on this one for a long time.

_8\. She laughed off Sissi's advances on Ulrich (until she heard him call her for Eli the first time)._

 

They’re eating lunch in the cafeteria when Sissi sidled up to the table.  She pressed her hip against the table and smiled down at Ulrich.  For his part, Ulrich looked resigned.  Yumi quirked an eyebrow in question, but Sissi ignored her.  She leaned over, elbow on the table and chin propped on her folded hand.

 

“Sissi,” Ulrich sighed.  He stabbed a white asparagus with his fork and looked somewhere around her left ear.

 

“Ulrich-dear, did you hear about the new film at the cinema?” she asked.  Yumi stared at the back of Sissi’s head, imagined the shark-like grin stretching the younger girl’s face.

 

“I’m not interested, Sissi,” he said quietly.

 

“But _Ulrich-dear_ ,” Sissi whined.

 

“Get lost, Sissi.  Can’t you see your interfering with our appetites?” Odd exclaimed.  Jeremie gave a pained sound next to her and Yumi hid a smile in her glass. 

 

Sissi huffed and strode away from the table, shoes clacking against the tiled floor.  Herve and Nicholas fell into step with her at the door.  “Think she’ll learn to take a hint?” Yumi asked, twirling a strand of spaghetti around her fork.

 

“Doubt it,” Odd chirped.  He elbowed Ulrich and grinned at his frown.  “She’d need brains for that, huh?” he laughed.

 

Ulrich chuckled and shook his head.  “She’s stubborn,” he said, “but, she’ll figure it out eventually.”

 

. . … . .

 

“No, no I haven’t seen Eli in a while.  I told you…we aren’t really talking.  No.  I don’t.  I have to go.  I’ll  get on tonight.  Bye.”  Yumi looked up from where she was flipping through Ulrich’s history textbook, eyebrow raised curiously.  “Sorry,” Ulrich mumbled, taking a seat next to her. 

 

She wanted to ask who he was talking to.  She wanted to ask who Eli was.  Instead she flipped to the chapter on Napoleon.  “Ready to study?” she asked.

. . … . .

 

They were seated on the bleachers around the indoor gym, waiting for the start-of-term assembly to start.  Yumi was on her third coffee of the morning and still felt groggy.  She winced when Sissi’s voice shrilled over the crowd of mumbled voices.

 

“ _Ulrich-dear_!” Sissi called.  She squeezed herself onto the bench next to him, elbowing Yumi out of the way.  It was a testament to her sleep deprivation that she didn’t retaliate and only glowered at the back of the girl’s head. 

 

“Sissi,” Ulrich replied.  He hunched forward, elbows on his knees.  “You almost knocked over Yumi’s coffee.”

 

Sissi twisted, spared a disinterested look for Yumi and her mug of coffee.  “ _Sorry_ ,” she said, voice flat.  Before Yumi could respond Sissi had whipped back around, strands of black hair hitting Yumi in the face.  She grumbled under her breath and sipped at her coffee.  “So, you know how Leon assigned us that project where we pick a period in history and present on it?” she asked.

 

“…Yeah,” Ulrich replied tentatively.

 

“Well, I was thinking we should work together.  Now, before you say anything, think about it.  We could do the Revolution; I know you’ve always been interested in that.  Or we could do it on Coubertin-”

 

“Sissi,” Ulrich sighed. 

 

She patted his hand and stood.  “Just think about it, you know it makes sense,” she said.  She tossed her hair over her shoulder and disappeared up the bleachers.

 

“I sincerely hope you have better offers than _that_ ,” Yumi mumbled.  She saw Ulrich’s lips quirk into a smile and she smiled into her coffee.

 

. . … . .

 

“Sissi _making a move_ again?” Odd asked.

 

Yumi rolled her eyes and studied her phone.  “That obvious?” she asked.  She leaned against the brick wall and resisted looking across the courtyard at the pair in question. 

 

“You two shouldn’t spy on them,” Jeremie said.  He frowned up at them from his spot on the ground, laptop open and balanced on his knees.  “Let her humiliate herself in peace.”  He pushed his glasses back up to their proper place.

 

“You take all the fun out of making fun of Sissi, Einstein,” Odd whined.

 

“I just think you shouldn’t have to stoop to her level for entertainment, Odd.”

 

“Whatever,” Yumi replied.  She glanced up to see Sissi’s fingers curled around Ulrich’s bicep and grit her teeth.  “If Sissi wants to make a fool of herself, so be it,” she added.  “It’s not like Ulrich’s interested in her anyway.”

 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Odd said idly.  He played with a rubber band around his wrist, snapping it every other word.  “Objectively speaking, she is kind of hot.”  Yumi gaped at him.  “If you can ignore the voice and personality.”

 

“And let’s not forget that before we found you-know-what and she betrayed us, they were close,” Jeremie added.  He frowned as Yumi made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat.  “I thought we agreed he wasn’t going to let her in again, if she figures it out and betrays us _again-_ ”

 

“Cool it, Einstein,” Odd placated.  “I don’t think Nature Boy over there has eyes for Sissi anymore.”  He smirked and settled against the wall next to Yumi.

 

“Why’s that?” Yumi asked.  Her eyes tracked Ulrich’s movements, watched the way he reached up and (gently) removed Sissi’s hand from his arm, watched him lean in to say something in her ear.  He looked up, caught Yumi’s eye and flushed. 

 

“Just a hunch,” Odd sing-songed.  “Yo, Ulrich, get a move on!  We’re supposed to be seeing that movie before you get your ass kicked by Yumi!” he hollered across the courtyard.  Ulrich nodded, shoved his hands in his trouser pockets, and ambled over to them.  “See?” Odd whispered.  “Not even a backwards glance for her.  He’s onto better things now.”

 

Yumi felt her stomach twist and vowed not to drink so much coffee in the future.

 

//

 

“So…” Yumi began hesitantly. 

 

“So?” Ulrich parroted back to her.  He looked up from where he was stretched out on the grass before rolling over onto his stomach in order to face her. 

 

Yumi took a gulp of water from the bottle in her hand and collected her thoughts.  “You and Sissi,” she began.  She paused as Ulrich’s face shuttered.  He didn’t turn away though, so she forged ahead.  “You two…dated?  Before Lyoko, I mean?”

 

Ulrich shrugged and rolled onto his back, stared up at the multihued sky and was silent for a long time.  “Yeah,” he said finally.  “We were close.”

 

“I just, I can’t imagine it,” she said casually.  “She’s persistent and a little flaky, not really the sharpest tool in the shed, you know?”

 

Ulrich shrugged again.  “So it appears,” he agreed.  “It was complicated,” he added.  He tilted his head back to eye her in the growing dark.  “Why are you asking?”

 

“Sissi seems interested in getting back to that and Jeremie’s worried, because of before, and I was just wondering-”

 

“If I was sneaking around with Sissi behind everyone’s back?” he asked, eyebrow arched.

 

“What?  No!”  She flushed and stuttered.  “No.  I was wondering if you would, go back to her.  After Lyoko is shut down…If you still liked her?”

 

Again he was silent for a long while.  Yumi bided her time, listened to the crickets and cicadas, packed up her empty water bottle and stretched her sore muscles.  An owl hooted and the shadows stretched.  “No,” he said finally, when she was nearly ready to give up on him answering.  “No, I don’t really like Sissi all that much.”  There was something to the way he said it that spoke of something else, but she couldn’t decipher it and let it go for the moment.

 

“Well, good,” she said as she got to her feet.  Ulrich stood as well, gave her a curious look.  “I think you could do much better,” she admitted.

 

. . … . .

 

Jeremie made a disgruntled noise and shot Odd an annoyed look.  The blonde ignored him and continued to spin in circles on Jeremie’s desk chair.  “Has anyone reached him?” he asked.

 

Yumi hung up her phone as Ulrich’s voicemail clicked on.  “He’s still not answering,” she replied, tried to keep the worry out of her voice.  He was probably making up a test or at practice or –

 

“Well, let’s begin then,” Jeremie grumbled.  “I think I’ve figured out a way to materialize Aelita and shut down X.A.N.A. without completely obliterating-”

 

The door opened and Ulrich stumbled in looking embarrassed.  “Sorry,” he apologized. 

 

Odd looked up, mouth open, but Jeremie spoke first.  “Glad you could join us,” he deadpanned.  Ulrich shrugged and took a seat on the floor next to Yumi.

 

“Lost track of time,” he replied. 

 

“Practice?” Yumi asked.  She nudged his shoulder and he smiled but shook his head.

 

“No, I was with a friend.  What’d I miss?”

 

Jeremie looked conflicted about whether he wanted to lecture or chastise, before ultimately launching into his explanation of Lyoko’s structural whatever.  Yumi knew she should pay attention but she was distracted by the silent conversation happening behind Jeremie’s laptop screen.  Odd was making faces and Ulrich’s eyes were narrowing, eyebrows furrowing more than usual.

 

She wondered what she was missing.

 

. . … . .

 

She rounded the corner between the science wing and the cafeteria to find Ulrich and Sissi mid-argument.  They were standing in a small alcove off the science building, alone.  Ulrich’s arms were crossed over his chest, expression neutral-bordering-on-bored as he leaned against the rough brick.  Sissi had her hands in the air, waving them around irritably. 

 

“You’re really screwed up, you know?” Sissi demanded.  One of her hands jabbed him in the chest and Yumi saw Ulrich stiffen.  “I don’t know if it’s you or your friends or your father-”

 

“ _Elisabeth_ ,” Ulrich ground out, voice carried on the wind.  Yumi was surprised; she hadn’t heard anyone call Sissi by her first name aside from the headmaster.

 

“No, no.  You don’t get to be angry.  You’re the one who kissed _me_ , Ulrich-dear,” and Sissi’s voice rose to a near-shriek.  Yumi froze.  She wasn’t spying, she was surprised.  Ulrich shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels.  “Now you’re blowing me off?  What the hell is wrong with you?  You treat me like I’m your dirty little secret and _trust me_ , Ulrich- _dear_ , I am so _not_.”

 

“Nothing.  I…”  His eyes lifted and Yumi knew the exact moment he spotted her.  His shoulders tensed and his face turned neutral again.  “I’ve got to go, Sissi.”

 

He pushed off the wall but Sissi grabbed his arm, pulled him back and said something too quiet for Yumi to hear.  Ulrich hesitated, met her eyes and shook his head.  Sissi’s face paled even as her cheeks reddened and she raised a hand to slap him.  Yumi wondered if she should intervene, boys generally didn’t seem to appreciate girls coming to their rescue but…

 

Ulrich caught Sissi’s wrist, leaned in and whispered something.  He released her and walked over to Yumi, gave her a small smile.  “Hey, were you looking for me?”

 

“Uh, no, not really,” she replied, cheeks red.  “Just taking a short cut to the cafeteria.  I had a question for Mr. Gregory,” she added.  Over Ulrich’s shoulder she saw Sissi flounce away toward the cafeteria.  “You kissed her?” she asked before she could stop herself.

 

Ulrich shrugged and didn’t meet her eyes.  They fell into step toward the cafeteria.  “Yeah.  Odd suggested it,” he said after a few steps.  “During the attack yesterday,” he added.

 

“Oh,” she replied.  She wasn’t sure what else she was supposed to say.  “So, think it’ll be Brussels sprouts again today?”

 

“God, I hope not,” Ulrich laughed, tension leaving his shoulders.

 

. . … . .

 

“Eli, _Eli_ , I _can’t_.  Yes, alright.  _Alright_ ,” Ulrich sighed.  He rubbed at his temples and Yumi was _not_ eavesdropping.  She wasn’t.  “Tomorrow?  Okay.  Yeah.  See you.”

 

Yumi kept her eyes firmly affixed to her script and didn’t look up as Ulrich set his phone down on the ground between them.  “Who’s Eli?” Aelita questioned.  She looked up from where she was highlighting her biology book.

 

“Yeah, Ulrich, who _is_ Eli?” Odd replied, voice dripping with something Yumi couldn’t place.  She looked up and caught Jeremie’s puzzled expression. 

 

Ulrich kicked Odd’s shin and shrugged.  His head was bent so she couldn’t see his face, but his neck was tinged a faint red.  “Just a friend, don’t worry about it.”

 

“You haven’t told her about-?”

 

“ _No_.  Is that all you think about?” Ulrich grumbled. 

 

She’d heard Eli mentioned before but this was the first time she really wondered if she should be worried.  Ulrich’s knee pressed against hers and she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind.

 

. . … . .

 

“It won’t last,” Sissi said; her voice thick with finality and self-righteous certainty.  She was looking at Yumi when she said it though and Yumi felt something in her stomach twist.  Something cold and hard and suddenly she wasn’t that hungry for breakfast anymore.  “We both know it won’t.”  Her eyes were on Ulrich this time and that cold, hard thing in her stomach coiled tighter at the look Ulrich shared with her.  “Come on, I hear they’re announcing the new play today and I want to see which lead I’ll be playing.”

 

. . … . .

 

It was Saturday afternoon and she was on her way to visit Ulrich.  She hadn’t let him know, because she hadn’t really anticipated stopping by but she’d gone to that little bakery and they’d had those chocolate scones he liked, and well, stopping by seemed logical.  Besides, she was his girlfriend and he genuinely seemed happy to see her when she popped in unexpectedly.  And she was bringing chocolate scones. 

 

Yumi smiled as she walked down the familiar hallway.  She was somewhat distracted, thinking about what to make Hiroki for dinner tonight and whether she’d remembered to set the DVR, when she reached the door.  It was slightly ajar and she could hear voices on the other side.  The open door didn’t really surprise her, lately Jim was conducting surprise room inspections to make sure boys and girls weren’t fraternizing behind closed doors.  It probably just meant Aelita was in there again.

 

She pushed the door open a little wider and froze.

 

Odd was on his bed, tossing wadded up paper balls for Kiwi to fetch (how had Jim not discovered the dog yet anyway?).  He was laughing and had his sketchpad propped up on his knees.  “Are you serious?” he asked not noticing the pushed open door.

 

Across the room Ulrich was leaning back against the wall.  He was _grinning_ and _relaxed_ and that surprised Yumi almost as much as seeing _Sissi_ lying on her stomach next to him, hand dangling off the bed to retrieve the paper balls Kiwi fetched.  “Oh, I’m very serious,” she replied, voice breathless with laughter. 

 

“ _Really_?” Odd questioned.  His pencil scratched against the pad.

 

“Oh yes.  He was up that tree for _three hours_.  My grandmother wanted to call his parents but he refused and cried and threatened to jump and break his arm purposefully.  Daddy had to get a ladder when he got home and coax him down with a bag of chocolates.”  Odd chortled and Sissi laughed, tossed the paper ball for Kiwi again.

 

“God,” Ulrich laughed.  “I can’t believe you remember that.”

 

“I have an excellent memory,” she retorted. 

 

“Obviously,” Odd snorted.  Ulrich hurled a pillow at the blonde.  “So what else have you got?”

 

“Mm,” Sissi said.  She shifted and her head was _on_ Ulrich’s _thigh_ and Yumi barely managed to contain her growl.  Her hand clenched on the scone bag.  “Let’s see,” she mused.

 

Yumi reached for the door again, intent on making her presence known and demanding to know just _what the Hell_ was going on.  Because seriously, her boyfriend should _not_ have _Sissi Delmas’s_ head on his _thigh_.  And Odd, who hated her even more than she did, should not be laughing and-and-and _conversing_ with her.

 

Her fingertips had just met the door when Ulrich groaned.

 

“ _Eli_ ,” he sighed.  “Haven’t you embarrassed me _enough_ today?”

 

Yumi didn’t freeze this time, instead she turned and ran.  She tossed the scones in the trash by the stairs on her way out.

 

//

 

“Hey,” Ulrich greeted when she answered her phone that night.  “How are you, haven’t heard from you all day.  You okay?”

 

Yumi relaxed on her bed and stared at her glowing ceiling.  She fought the knots in her stomach and the tightness of her throat.  “Yeah, fine.  How was your day?” she asked. 

 

“Okay,” he sighed.  He sounded tired and she closed her eyes.  But the image of Sissi, of _Sissi_ -who-he-called- _Eli_ , laughing with her head on his thigh kept replaying in her mind and she focused on the stars above her again.  “I just hung out in my room, did some homework and goofed around.” 

 

He sounded so sincere and her stomach knotted tighter, her throat became more constricted.  If she hadn’t known, if she hadn’t _seen_ , then she’d…she’d believe him.  What else had he just _not_ told her?

 

“How was your day?” he asked.

 

“Oh, it was okay.  I went to _Belle’s_ and got some pastries then came home to do homework and watch Hiroki since my parents had some function to go to.”

 

She had come home and run a hot bath, drowned her sorrows in too-hot water and lavender-scented bubble bath.  He didn’t need to know that.  Her mother had given her a _look_ but had been distracted getting ready.  She’d watched Disney movies and ate over-sized ice cream sundaes with Hiroki until they’d both felt sick.

 

“They have those chocolate scones?”

 

“No,” she said.  They were silent for a while and Yumi closed her eyes, saw that same damn scene replay behind her eyelids.  Her voice was thin when she next spoke.  “Ulrich?”  He made a sound of acknowledgment.  “Ulrich, who is Eli?”

 

His voice was careful when he answered.  “Why do you ask?”

 

“I’ve heard…I’ve heard you mention her before.  Who is she?”

 

“Just an old friend, Yumi.  Someone I used to know a long time ago.”  Her stomach twisted and she swallowed hard.

 

“An old girlfriend?” she pressed.

 

Ulrich was silent.  She could hear Odd’s voice in the background.  “No,” he said.  “She’s just an old friend I grew up with.”  There was a crash and Ulrich groaned.  “I’ve got to go, talk to you later?”

 

“Yeah,” she murmured.

 

“Goodnight, love you,” he said.

 

Her throat was tight and thick with unsaid things.  “Love you too.  ‘Night,” she replied. 

 

She hung up and closed her eyes, saw the scene again.  But she saw more this time, saw the looks and the touches, the distraction kisses Ulrich had used on Sissi in the past, heard Sissi’s warning _It won’t last_ and felt the bile rise up her throat. 

 

It was the first time she ever felt that Sissi was a threat after all.


	10. Immature

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warnings:** Some cursing.
> 
>  **Rating:** PG-13
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Hey, everyone. Again, I'm sorry for the delay. This should have been up at least two weeks ago but I got distracted. The semester will be over soon though, so hopefully I will have a regular-ish updating schedule once more.

_9\. She looked forward to having Aelita join their group (until she did and she realized Aelita wasn't as mature as she had anticipated)._

 

The first time Aelita…arrived…they were faced with the unexpected issue of just _what_ to do with her.  Not that they weren’t happy about it, hell, Odd was ready to break out the confetti.  “So…this is Earth?” Aelita questioned, glancing around the factory. 

 

“We did it guys, we really did it,” Jeremie beamed.  Yumi watched, smiling, as Jeremie pulled Aelita into a hug before backing away, face red.

 

“What now?” Ulrich questioned. 

 

“What d’you mean?” Odd asked.  He paused mid-fist-pump. 

 

“Well…where is she going to stay?  She can’t room with us without Jim having a fit and the only girls with singles are Claire-”

 

“No, she hates me,” Odd interrupted. 

 

“Tania?” Ulrich suggested.

 

“Didn’t her roommate disappear last semester?” Yumi questioned.  She took her turn in hugging Aelita and gave her a reassuring smile.

 

“I could stay at the factory,” Aelita stated.  “Technically it’s been my home for a while now.”

 

“No, no, there has to be someone…” Jeremie said.  His brow furrowed as he thought it over.

 

“I’m coming up blank except for…” Odd trailed off, eyes meeting Ulrich’s. 

 

Ulrich nodded.  “She might go for it,” he agreed.

 

“No,” Jeremie said.  “Not Sissi.”

 

“There has to be a solution,” Yumi stated.

 

//

 

An hour later Yumi stood in her living room.  Her mother rolled and unrolled the magazine in her hand.  Her father looked up from the book he was reading.  They weren’t looking at her though; they were staring at Aelita as she wandered the room, idly touching things that caught her attention.  “This is Aelita, Aelita Stones,” Yumi told her parents.  Aelita paused in her study of the framed photos on the mantel and smiled brightly.  “She’s Odd’s cousin.”

 

“Odd…” her mother said, lips pursed.

 

Her father frowned.  “Is he the nice blonde boy or the nutty blonde one?”

 

“ _Takeyo_!”  Her mother hissed and swatted him with the magazine she had been reading.  “Hello, Aelita.”

 

“Hello,” Aelita replied.  Her cheeks were tinted pink, a shade lighter than the hair her father kept eyeing. 

 

“Aelita could use a place to stay.  She was admitted to Kadic late and there was a mix-up with her room and if she doesn’t have somewhere to stay she’ll have to go home.”  Yumi paused.  “To Odd’s family and no one deserves that, right, Dad?”  Her father snorted while her mother’s eyes narrowed.  “Just until the school figures something else out.  Please?”

 

Her parents exchanged a look.  “Of course she can stay here, Yumi.  Aelita, do you like sushi?”

 

“I wouldn’t know,” Aelita replied, beaming.  “I’ve never had it before.”

 

//

 

“Yumi,” Aelita questioned.  She was lying on her back, eyes fixed on the glowing stars above them.  “Thank you, for taking me in.  And for…for rescuing me.”

 

“Of course,” Yumi yawned.  She turned onto her side and snuggled deeper into her pillow.  “We’re a team, and you’re one of us, now.”  She yawned again.  “Anyway…it’s good not being the, the only girl anymore.”

 

She fell asleep to the sound of Aelita’s quiet laughter.

 

. . … . .

 

The next time was better, Yumi decided.  They were better prepared for it.  Aelita went to school and the only thing they had to pretend was that she was somehow involved in Odd’s crazy family.  Aelita was still top of the class, still got better grades than Jeremie, and had taken over Ulrich’s tutoring much to everyone’s relief. 

 

But best of all, because Aelita stayed at the school now, that meant Yumi could too, sometimes, without her parents getting worried.

 

“So what do you want to do tonight?” Yumi asked.  She was lying across Aelita’s bed, head tilted back to watch as the girl typed on the pink laptop she had gotten somehow. 

 

“Odd mentioned a monster movie marathon in his room, it sounds fun.  Popped corn and M&Ms have been promised.”  Aelita flipped a few pages in the textbook, typed a couple words, and highlighted a section.

 

Yumi made a face.  “Don’t we see enough monsters?” she asked.  “Like on a daily basis?  I’m sick of monsters.”

 

Aelita sighed and turned to her.  She had a pen behind her ear and was chewing on the cap of her highlighter.  “Odd calls it research,” Aelita answered, “on different ways to dismember and disable attacks.”  She shrugged.  “It sounds fun,” she repeated.  Yumi scrunched her nose and let her eyes drift to the frog clock on the desk.  “Ulrich will be there.”

 

“Oh, all right,” she sighed.

 

. . … . .

 

Yumi groaned as she sat down at the lunch table and poked at the stew with her spoon.  Jeremie gave her a pained look as well.  “Odd?” Yumi questioned.  She had to shout to be heard over the noise blaring from the overhead speakers.

 

“Who else?” Jeremie growled.  He rubbed at his eyebrows and then his eyes narrowed at something over Yumi’s shoulder.  She twisted to see Ulrich set his tray down next to her.  “It’s funny,” Jeremie said waspishly, “how clever you can be when it isn’t related to a textbook.”  He fumbled with a bottle of aspirin and Yumi held a hand out wordlessly. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ulrich replied.  He poked at the potatoes on his tray.  Yumi smiled as Jeremie deposited two of the white pills in her hand.  She downed them dry.

 

“Aelita told me that Odd told her that you helped him plan this,” Jeremie snapped.  Yumi’s head throbbed enough from the…music…that it took her a few tries to understand what he’d just said.  Jeremie waved his hand in the air to highlight the heavy metal currently pulsing from the speakers.  “You can rewire an electrical system but you’re failing chem-”

 

“Isn’t this awesome?” Aelita asked brightly.  She smiled as she sat down at the table and kissed Jeremie on the cheek.  Jeremie’s mouth fell open, and Yumi wasn’t sure if it was in shock of the kiss or in shock at what she said.  Yumi’s was because of the words, definitely the words, she had just said.  “Odd says I can DJ the sound system after school if it’s still up.  I think this is a little much for lunch but it’s so much better than whatever it was that was playing earlier.”

 

“Super Furry Animals,” Ulrich replied.

 

“What?” Jeremie asked while Aelita looked at him curiously.

 

“The band, it was the Super Furry Animals.”

 

“Oh, how interesting.”  Yumi tried to tune out while they talked gibberish.  She hadn’t expected Aelita to, well, _be in league_ with Odd and his immature tendencies, but here she was, squealing about being able to take over the sound system in a couple of hours.  She studied the other girl, watched the way she smiled and waved her arms around, how she practically vibrated with happiness and excitement. 

 

This wasn’t what she’d expected.

 

“Yumi?”

 

“Huh?”  She looked up to find Aelita’s green eyes watching her curiously.  “What?”

 

“I asked, what would you think of Japanese Electronic after school?  Any favorites?”

 

Yumi shook her head.  “No, and I really don’t want to be caught in league with Odd.  I’m sure Delmas will expel him this time.”

 

Jeremie gave a long suffering sigh.  “If he wasn’t expelled for last April’s Shower Incident then I doubt this will get him more than a detention.”

 

Yumi could only nod in disappointed agreement.

 

. . … . .

 

Yumi was soaking her sore muscles in the bathtub when her mother knocked on the door.  “Yumi, Aelita’s downstairs,” she called. 

 

“I’ll be there in a minute!” she shouted back.  She groaned as she levered herself up into a standing position and grabbed her towel.  Her muscles ached.  That last training session had been rough. 

 

When she got downstairs she heard Aelita’s laughter accompanied with Hiroki talking in a bad accent.  She paused in the doorway to the living room and stared.  The two were sitting hunched on the sofa, controllers in hand and eyes fixed to the screen where some videogame was playing. 

 

“Take _that_!” Hiroki roared.  His character swung some kind of axe at what looked like mechanical parrots.  Suddenly a red box popped up and Hiroki’s pirate (was it a pirate?) turned into a…chicken?  Yumi was confused.  “Aw, _man_!”

 

“Haha!  You’re a chicken.  I get to get the power-up!” Aelita crowed.  On screen Aelita’s girl-princess-fairy skipped toward a treasure chest. 

 

“No way!” Hiroki exclaimed.  “I’ll peck you to death!”  The chicken proceeded to chase the princess while Aelita hit Hiroki with a throw pillow.  “Cheating, cheating!”

 

“Creative counter-attack,” Aelita threw back.  Yumi cleared her throat and they both looked up with wide smiles.  “Hey, Yumi, do you want to play too?”

 

Hiroki pulled a face.  “Yumi’s a buzzkill.  She doesn’t understand videogames.”  His face screwed up even more.  “She doesn’t believe in fighting or whatever.”

 

“I don’t like fighting _fake_ things,” Yumi corrected.  Hiroki shrugged like it was the same thing, which it wasn’t.  It wasn’t.  Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t say anything else.  It wasn’t his fault that he just didn’t get that she spent so much time fighting digital monsters for _real_.  It wasn’t a game to her; it couldn’t be a game to her.  She crossed her arms and shifted her stance to relieve the tension stiffening her muscles.  “Sorry for the wait, I lost track of time.”

 

“It’s no problem,” Aelita replied.  She hit the now-a-pirate-again character with a wand and then went off to fight more robot parrots.  “Hiroki’s been keeping me entertained.”

 

“Aelita’s _great_ at videogames.”  The _unlike you_ is unsaid but Yumi can hear it and it sets her teeth on edge.  “It’s like she’s a natural.”

 

Aelita laughed and ruffled his hair after the Level Complete screen popped up.  “I guess I’ve had a lot of practice with digital monsters and worlds,” she said.  She stood.  “I’ll catch you later, okay?  We’ll have a rematch.”

 

“Definitely,” he agreed.  Yumi ignored how happy her brother seemed.

 

“I’m sorry you had to wait with him,” she apologized as they exited the house.  “And play his videogame.  He’s been glued to that game since he got it last week.”

 

Aelita gave her a confused look.  “It was fine, Yumi.  Really.  Odd and Ulrich have been teaching me how to play and that game is fun.  I’ll have to see if Odd has it or if Ulrich will get it.”  It was Yumi’s turn to give Aelita a confused look.  Aelita shrugged, a blush staining her cheeks as she shoved her hands into the orange hoodie she was wearing.  “Your brother’s not that bad, Yumi.”

 

“That’s because you don’t live with him,” she sighed.  She let it go though as they headed toward the cinema. 

 

. . … . .

 

She was crossing the courtyard when the snowball hit her in the middle of her back.  “What the...?  Who did that?” she demanded, spinning around.

 

The second snowball hit her in the face.  Aelita laughed and ducked down behind a bush. 

 

“I _can_ see you!” she called.  She scooped up a handful of snow, packed it down into a ball.  She backed away slowly, crunched the snow loudly beneath her boots.  Aelita stood, ready to fire, and was met with a face full of snow.

 

It devolved from there into cold snow, damp clothes, and laughter. 

 

. . … . .

 

“What is it about Odd?” Yumi asked.  It was late and they were laying side-by-side in Aelita’s too-pink bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars Aelita had insisted on putting up.  Yumi silently admitted she found them comforting, familiar.  Aelita gave a questioning _hmm_ and shifted next to her.  “He’s completely immature and reckless and I don’t know how he hasn’t been sent home yet…but you go along with it.  You _help_ him and you _enjoy_ it and…why?”

 

She felt Aelita shrug and then the bed moved as Aelita rolled onto her side.  Yumi twisted so that she was facing the younger girl as well.  “Jeremie’s worried about you,” she added.  The faint light from the moon outside and the fainter light from the fake stars above highlighted the downturn to Aelita’s mouth, the crease between her eyebrows.  “We’re all worried.”

 

“Because of Odd?” Aelita questioned.  Yumi nodded.  Aelita snorted and her eyes rolled.  “You shouldn’t be, neither of you.”  With an _hmph_ she rolled back so that she faced her ceiling.  “I know Odd can be a bit much sometimes but…it’s okay.  He’s okay.  He has fun, and maybe you can’t see it, but he’s just so full of life and passion and sometimes it’s intoxicating.  It’s like he gets it, gets me.”

 

She worried her bottom lip and Yumi touched her shoulder hesitantly.  “We’re here for you, Aelita.  Jeremie, Ulrich, me, we’re all here for you.  We-”

 

“I know,” Aelita interrupted.  “I know.  And I appreciate it.  But Odd…with him I don’t have to be smart or brilliant or anything.”  She shrugged again and Yumi frowned, confused.  She didn’t understand, Aelita _was_ all those things, anyone could see it.  Hell, she got better grades than _Jeremie_. 

 

“I know I’m not what you expected,” Aelita continued, cutting into Yumi’s musings.  “I’m not what any of you expected, not really.  Jeremie wanted a brainiac and you wanted someone to help rein in the boys and I don’t really know _what_ Ulrich expected…but I’m, I’m me, you know?  I can’t be everything for everyone and with Odd I can buy silly hats or play pranks or dance around in the rain and _not_ be looked at like I’m crazy.  I’m not crazy, Yumi,” she murmured.  “I’m not crazy, I’m just _so_ happy to be here finally and I want to experience _everything_ otherwise it’ll be like there was no point in leaving Lyoko.”

 

Yumi tensed.  She reached out and gripped Aelita’s shoulder tightly until the younger girl turned to face her.  “No one thinks you’re crazy, Aelita.  And there was a point to leaving Lyoko.  You belong _here_.”

 

Aelita nodded.  “Yeah, I know.  I’m still trying to figure out where though.” 

 

They were silent for a while, listening to the air system kick on and then off.  A door down the hall opened and closed, footsteps retreating toward the bathroom.  The frog clock on Aelita’s desk tick-tocked the passing minutes.  Yumi stared up at the stars on the ceiling and thought over what Aelita had said.  Over what she had assumed herself. 

 

“Aelita?”

 

“Mm?”

 

“Tomorrow do you want to do something?  Anything you want?”

 

She felt Aelita laugh next to her.  “Careful, I may ask to dye our hair weird colors or try on crazy outfits or-”

 

“Or prank the boys?” Yumi asked.  She gave Aelita a small smile.  After a moment Aelita returned it.

 

“Yeah,” she yawned.  “We can do that.  That sounds fun.  Goodnight, Yumi.”

 

It did sound fun, Yumi thought.  “Goodnight, Aelita,” she murmured back.  She twisted, pulled the covers up to her chin and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
